Rätselraten um Sarkawis Gesundheitszustand

--- Das Phantom al-Sarkawi geistert mal wieder gewaltig durch den Blätterwald. Ursache für die Irritation: Islamisten selbst haben im Web vermeldet, dass der jordanische Führer von al-Qaida im Irak verwundet sein soll. Da liegt die Vermutung natürlich nahe, dass Propaganda und PR Ziel des Postings sind. Nichts genaues weiß man also mal wieder, umso mehr wird über diesen Zustand des Nichtwissens aber berichtet. Groß heute etwa in der New York Times: An Internet statement posted in the name of his Islamic militant group said Tuesday that America's most wanted man in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, had been injured "for the sake of God," a term commonly used by militants in Iraq to refer to wounds sustained at the hands of American or Iraqi troops. ... The statement gave no details of the injury or how it was inflicted, but it appealed to all Muslims to pray for the "speedy recovery" of Mr. Zarqawi, who has claimed responsibility for scores of suicide bombings, ambushes, drive-by assassinations and hostage killings, and attracted an American bounty of $25 million. ... For weeks, American commanders in Iraq have said they believed they were closing in on Mr. Zarqawi, and they have cited the arrest of more than 20 of his "trusted lieutenants," including leaders of his terrorist cells, propaganda chiefs, bomb makers, drivers and others. But an American general in Iraq who was reached by e-mail on Tuesday took a cautious view of the report that the militant leader had been injured, saying that while the American command did not discount the report, "we aren't banking on it, either." "It could be a ruse to throw us off his trail," the officer said. ... Mr. Zarqawi has had several narrow escapes. Earlier this month, American officers confirmed that he had come close to being captured during an American raid along the Euphrates River north of Ramadi on Feb. 20. The commanders said a pickup carrying Mr. Zarqawi made an abrupt U-turn near an American checkpoint between the cities of Hit and Haditha, 100 miles east of the Syrian border, setting off a chase. The officers said Mr. Zarqawi leapt from the pickup and hid beneath an overpass, leaving his driver and another man to be captured, along with Mr. Zarqawi's laptop computer and more than $100,000 in cash. Mehr zum Thema beim SITE Institute und bei Spiegel Online.

Update: Angeblich wurde schon ein Nachfolger für Sarkawi bestimmt. Mehr dazu in Telepolis und Spiegel Online.

Sonst: Irakische Polizei meldet „Bürgerkrieg“. In der nordirakischen Stadt Tal Afar liefern sich Sunniten und Schiiten offenbar harte Kämpfe, Welt.de

Interessantes aus Washingtons Lobbyviertel, der "K-Street": It's the consultancy, stupid! Wahlkämpfe gewinnt man nicht mit Themen, sondern mit dem richtigen Berater, Telepolis.

Schlappe für Bush: US-Parlament legt sich mit Bush an. In direkter Konfrontation mit dem Präsidenten hat das Repräsentantenhaus in Washington eine Ausweitung der öffentlichen Finanzierung der Stammzellenforschung beschlossen. Bush droht mit Veto, sueddeutsche.de

Neues von Schily & Co.: Überwachung rund um die Uhr zur WM 2006. Innenminister beschließen Sicherheitskonzept, Berliner Zeitung.