Don't Blame the Occupation

Some clever liberals concede that the battle in Iraq pits the U.S. against Al Qaeda terrorists. (Note: this "concession" became simpler when Bin Laden admitted it.) But, they insist, that's only because we're an occupying power, encountering justifiable resistance from a resentful populace. This is nonsense--as Cliff May explains:

Zarqawi himself put it this way: "We do not wage our jihad in order to replace the Western tyrant with an Arab tyrant. We fight to make God's word supreme, and anyone who stands in the way of our struggle is our enemy, a target of our swords."

Those who say, “Yes, but we wouldn't be fighting Zarqawi in Iraq now if not for the U.S. invasion,” are misinformed.

Zarqawi, a Jordanian, was a commander of the anti-American forces in Afghanistan. It is believed that in 2002 he was wounded and fled to Iraq where Saddam Hussein provided him medical treatment and refuge. And then, Saddam gave him the freedom to operate, as well.

In October 2002, Zarqawi organized the assassination of an American diplomat, Lawrence Foley, in Amman. Intelligence analysts believe he also was behind the series of suicide bombings in Casablanca in May 2003, the bombing of Turkish synagogues in November 2003, the Madrid train bombings in March and numerous attacks against Sh'ia mosques and worshippers in Iraq throughout the year.

While under Saddam's protection, Zarqawi commuted between Baghdad and the terrorist training camp of the al Qaeda-linked Ansar al Islam. That camp, located in the north of the country, near the Iranian border, was destroyed by U.S. forces during the 2003 invasion. But many Ansar members escaped and went on to re-group as Ansar al Sunna – the organization that claimed credit for the recent suicide bombing against American and Iraqi troops in a mess tent near Mosul.

Zarqawi and his band have been battling freedom and democracy since well before the Iraq invasion. Too bad liberals have been inventing excuses far longer.