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written in august 2004
"I am responsible for the beheading of American agent Nicolas
Berg, the Korean Kim Sun-il and the Iraqi spies in American pay."
The man facing me in his white dishdasha is thirty years old,
with a short black beard and a closed countenance.
Seeing my consternation
at the evocation of these feats of war, Abu Rashid begins to laugh:
"Look at the disc I gave you of Berg's decapitation twice
in a row and you'll see, you'll get used to it, "he counsels
before inviting me to be present for the next one... My interpreter
and I are in Fallujah, the first "liberated" Iraqi territory,
where American soldiers no longer enter. Here, a recent fatwa
authorizes residents to kill foreign journalists without any sort
of trial. The al-Jolan suburb is represented as the general headquarters
for those "foreign fighters" - the non-Iraqi Arabs who
have come to participate in the fight against the Americans -
who today would give Iraq over to blood and fire. It's 5 PM and,
in the little living room of this house spared by the American
bombings that began again a few days ago, about fifteen leaders
of the more extreme wing of the mujahadeen listen with respect
as their leader claims credit in front of a foreign woman for
the executions that have traumatized the whole world.
Contacts struck up
since the siege of Fallujah had allowed me the chance for this
meeting with Abu Rashid (1), the leader of the local mujahadeen
assembly. Getting across the city alone said enough about the
power of the emir who was to receive us at his home. All we needed
was to be accompanied by one of his lieutenants: all the fighters
at the checkpoints that checker the neighborhoods lowered their
eyes without asking any questions and greeted the one who represented
Iraq's new "Wahabite Emirate's" strongman respectfully.
Abu Rashid, however,
is much more than the first among the mujahadeen in a town whose
name freezes American blood. In front of the Falluja war leaders,
the man his men have dubbed "the man of steel" presents
himself unmistakably as a Tawid wal Djihad (Unification and Holy
war) emir. This is the movement the Americans link to Abu Moussab
al-Zarkaoui and the al-Qaeda network...
While Abu Rashid explains
his "duty to kill", I remember American hostage Nick
Berg's animal cries while he was in his death throes, while his
executioners laboriously persisted over his curled up body: "You
know, when we behead someone, we enjoy it," one of the men
seated to the emir's right, insisted on letting us know in English.
A murmur of disapproval arose. The atmosphere froze. Abu Rashid
put his hand on the man's shoulder and told him to be quiet. In
front of us, he prefers to call to mind Safia Bint al-Mutailib,
the heroine of Islam, who, during the battle of Mecca against
the Jews, cut off the head of one of the men who came to attack
her.
"We don't kidnap
to frighten those we are holding," he corrects, "but
to put pressure on the countries that help or are preparing to
help the Americans. What are they thinking; coming to an occupied
country? They come to terms with the United States in the name
of their business interests, but their contracts are stained with
the blood of Iraqis. Should we just sit there while we're being
murdered? It's not a good thing to behead, but it's a method that
works.
In combat, the Americans
tremble. And look at the correct response from the Philippines.
Thanks to their attitude that allowed us to free our hostage,
we've been able to show the world that we love peace and mercy
too... Moreover, I tried to negotiate an exchange of prisoners
for Nick Berg, but the Americans rejected me. They're the ones
who are really responsible for his death."
A former member of
the guard close to Saddam Hussein, Abu Rashid abhors the former
dictator, who threw him into prison because he belonged to an
Islamist party. When he got out, Abu Rashid tried to get to Afghanistan
to fight against the Americans. The Taliban rout surprised him
at the Iranian frontier. However, he learned some lessons from
the history of the Muslim fighters in Afghanistan: "We understood
that division would be our undoing. That's why we created this
mujahadeen council."
Inside the council
of thirteen fighters' leaders, tasks are divided between the different
groups. Some are responsible for enemy surveillance, others for
logistical support.
Some cut American
lines, fire on convoys. Others are in charge of the kidnappings.
The leader gets an additional task: executing the bad fighters
who use their weapons to terrorize and rob the Fallujah population.
To hear Abu Rashid
tell it, it was the end of the siege of Fallujah on April 29,
2004 that federated all the little groups of fighters in what
has become the capital of the resistance against the "American
invader." "Since the siege, for the Muslim community,
the hatred the Americans expressed towards Fallujah has become
the symbol of their hatred of Islam," summarizes the Salafist
[member of an extremist Islamic sect related to Wahabism]. Since
then, kidnapping negotiations are centralized and attacks throughout
the country organized here. The next objective is to intensify
simultaneous attacks "to show our unity and our strength."
Two fighter group
leaders, one from Hoseiba, on the Syrian border, the other from
Haditha, 250 kilometers west of Baghdad, arrive in the room just
then. They embrace the emir with respect, banging their shoulders
together Bedouin style.
And so a "work
conference" is convened.
Nothing exasperates
the Salafist Iraqi Mujahadeen more than asking them whether foreign
fighters, those they call "the Arabs" have taken over
control of the struggle. "It's an American lie," Abu
Rashid answers us, in scathing tones. "It's us, the Iraqis,
who command in our city and who plan the resistance throughout
the country. The "Arab" fighters have come to help us.
Fallujah has become a symbol for all Muslims, the starting point
for the Re-conquest. So, yes, we welcome them, why not? The Americans
have allies too."
-Yet, in the DVD of
Tawid wal Djihad (Unification and Holy War) operations you dispatched
to several journalists including me a few weeks ago in Baghdad,
most of the filmed suicide attacks were executed by these "foreign
fighters"...
-"Yes, because
to become a shahid, is the act of supreme faith. The Iraqis have
not yet reached this degree of fervor, but little by little they
are beginning to imitate their "Arab" brothers"...
The emir is sorry to acknowledge that the Arab auxiliaries still
have lessons in faith to teach his compatriots...
-And Abu Moussab al-Zarkaoui,
bin Laden's Jordanian lieutenant, is he the one who plans the
attacks, as the Americans believe?
-"In Fallujah,
there's no Zarkaoui. Elsewhere? I don't want to lie to you, so
I'll answer that he is perhaps somewhere in Iraq. But what's most
important is that today in Fallujah, we're all Zarkaouis. And
that all Iraqis are bin Laden."
-And when will you
stop fighting?
-"When the occupation
is over and Islamic law established in Iraq. Until then, no Muslim
country in the world will be at peace."
Before seeing us out,
Abu Rashid insisted on solemnly giving us a message for Jacques
Chirac and George Bush (see below). He leaves us with a well-intended
warning: "Don't do anything in this city without getting
my authorization in advance."
Ahmed is not part
of the Unification and Holy War group, but he sometimes helps
Zarkaoui's group out with logistics, like the day in January 2004
when he went to pick up the body of one of the Saudi "martyrs"
who had just exploded himself at the Khaldiya bridge. He envies
those who have the courage to become "martyrs". "Me
too, when I run out of weapons, I'll go blow myself up,"
he asserts.
(1) The names of the mudjahidin have been changed
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Message for Jacques
Chirac and George Bush
During his interview
with our special envoy, Abu Rashid dictated a message to her for
the French and American presidents as well as the United Nations.
The text of it follows:
"Remind your President Jacques Chirac and George Bush - and
write down every word: we will kidnap all the citizens of countries
allied to the United States and the impious government of Iyad
Allaoui. We will cut the heads off citizens of nations who refuse
to reconsider their support for our enemies. Those who assist
our enemies become our enemy. The Vietnamese also cut off heads
during their war with the United States. You will no longer be
able to say we didn't warn you. This message is addressed to the
UN and to all nations that consider sending an army for peace-keeping
operations in Iraq."
Sara Daniel
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