Does Robert Fisk read the Independent?

Dear Geneviève Roberts,
Dear Simon Kelner, Editor

I hope all is well at the Independent.

“Insurgency leader Zarqawi appears in video to warn of more Iraq attacks” (By Geneviève Roberts, The Independent, 26 April 2006) reads:

“Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of the terrorist group al-Qa'ida in Iraq, appeared in a video posted on the internet warning of more terrorist attacks”

Just a few days ago, The Washington Post wrote:

“The U.S. military is conducting a propaganda campaign to magnify the role of the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, according to internal military documents and officers familiar with the program. The effort has raised his profile in a way that some military intelligence officials believe may have overstated his importance and helped the Bush administration tie the war to the organization responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.” (Military Plays Up Role of Zarqawi. Jordanian Painted As Foreign Threat To Iraq's Stability, By Thomas E. Ricks, Washington Post, April 10, 2006)

A few weeks ago, interviewed by ABC – Australia, Robert Fisk said:

“Well, I don't know if al-Zarqawi is alive. You know, al-Zarqawi did exist before the American Anglo-American invasion. He was up in the Kurdish area, which was not actually properly controlled by Saddam. But after that he seems to have disappeared. We know there's an identity card that pops up. We know the Americans say we think we've recognised him on a videotape. Who recognises him on a videotape? How many Americans have ever met al-Zarqawi? Al-Zarqawi's mother died more than 12 months ago and he didn't even send commiserations or say "I'm sorry to hear that". His wife of whom he was very possessive is so poor she has to go out and work in the family town of Zarqa. Hence the name Zarqawi. I don't know if al-Zarqawi is alive or exists at the moment. I don't know if he isn't a sort of creature invented in order to fill in the narrative gaps, so to speak.” (Roberst Fisk shares his Middle East knowledge, Broadcast: 03/02/2006 ABC - Australia - Lateline)

In your article you take for granted that al-Zarqawi is still alive, is still in Iraq, is “the head of the terrorist group al-Qa'ida in Iraq” and that he “appeared in a video posted on the internet warning of more terrorist attacks”. Why? Because, you write, “[T]he recording, showing the Iraqi most wanted man unmasked for the first time since the start of insurgency, was believed by analysts to be genuine.”

On 18 March 2006, on your same newspaper, Robert Fisk, commenting on a Los Angeles Times’ article whose title was “In a Battle of Wits, Iraq's Insurgency Mastermind Stays a Step Ahead of US", wrote:

“Now quite apart from the fact that many Iraqis - along, I have to admit, with myself - have grave doubts about whether Zarqawi exists, and that al-Qai'da's Zarqawi, if he does exist, does not merit the title of "insurgency mastermind", the words that caught my eye were "US authorities say". And as I read through the report, I note how the Los Angeles Times sources this extraordinary tale. I thought American reporters no longer trusted the US administration, not after the mythical weapons of mass destruction and the equally mythical connections between Saddam and the international crimes against humanity of 11 September 2001. Of course, I was wrong.”

Fisk’s article’s title was “The farcical end of the American dream. The US press is supposed to be challenging the lies of this war”

Sometimes I wonder if Robert Fisk still reads the Independent.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to reading your comments.

Best regards,
Gabriele Zamparini

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UPDATE
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Zarqawi tape authentic, says Fisk
Lateline- ABC - Australia - 04/26/06