New al-Zarqawi Tape Promotes Civil War genre: Just Jihad & Polispeak & Six Degrees of Speculation

In a tape recording released Friday, that claims to be the voice of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, he calls on Sunnis to battle Shiites in what appears to be a strategy to foment civil war in a country already struggling with sectarian conflict. Read the full article here.

The tape follows a video released in late April and comes at a point in time when the Bush administration has signaled a desire to reduce troop levels. Unfortunately, the need for additional troops led in the city of Ramadi led the military to send additional troops previously starioned in Kuwait. See the details here and here.

CAIRO, Egypt -- The leader of al-Qaida in Iraq urged Sunnis to confront Shiites and ignore calls for reconciliation in a new audiotape posted Friday on the Web, saying Shiite militias are killing and raping the Sunni Arab minority.

The tape was a four-hour sermon by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi against Shiites, denouncing their top cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani as an "atheist," and saying the community had collaborated with invaders throughout Iraq's history.

"Oh Sunni people, wake up, pay attention and prepare to confront the poisons of the Shiite snakes who are afflicting you with all agonies since the invasion of Iraq until our day. Forget about those advocating the end of sectarianism and calling for national unity," al-Zarqawi said.

Much of Friday's tape was aimed at rallying Sunnis - who make up the majority of Muslims in the Arab world but are a minority in Iraq - against Shiites across the Mideast and Iran, which many Sunni Iraqis deeply mistrust for its influence with the Shiite parties that now dominate Iraq's government.

"There is no difference between Shiites of Iran and the Shiites in the rest of the Arab world either in Iraq, Lebanon. their beliefs are the same .. their hatred of Sunnis is the same," he said, adding, "The roots of Jews and the Shiites are the same."

Daniel DiRito | June 2, 2006 | 8:11 AM
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