Contributing Experts' Media Appearances on al-Zarqawi's Death
By Andrew Cochran
Steven Emerson on Fox News Channel's O'Reilly Report tonight: AZ's death will have some effect on the insurgency, but the devolution of jihad worldwide into homegrown cells through the Internet and Saudi-funded Wahabbism mean his death has little impact outside Iraq. So the Al Qaeda organization might be on the verge of collapse, we're in post-Al Qaeda phase. Al-Zarqawi probably appointed the next-in-line and they can reconstitute.
Walid Phares on Fox News Channel's "Big Story" (click on the "Video" link at the Fox News site): Core supporters saying "this is what Allah wanted but he wasn't that important." Most interesting development is that Iraqis and Jordanians have more courage and realized that with patience, he could be taken out. AZ couldn't displace the political process, and his death creating a momentum for democracy that US should push. Iraqi Generals on Arab TV said they will take action to push Syria to end jihadists' incursions into Iraq.
Evan Kohlmann on al-Zarqawi's use of the internet on NBC News tonight: “Zarqawi really created the idea of a comprehensive information war on the Internet." He pioneered “the use of the Internet in order to provide disinformation, in order to provide support, in order to recruit people directly over the Internet.”
I was interviewed by Dan Raviv of CBS News for "The Death of a Terrorist," broadcast tonight on CBS Radio stations. You can listen to it on the CBS News site (MP3 file). I discussed the al-Zarqawi legacy and his network's reach into Africa and Europe.
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