"We have declared a fierce war on this evil principle of democracy and those who follow this wrong ideology," said the speaker, who identified himself as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, head of the al-Qaida affiliate in Iraq. "Anyone who tries to help set up this system is part of it."
This is so odd, because I thought it was our fault or something we had done. Isn't that what many in the anti-war side say (from Buchanan to Moore)? I mean, for Thug One to declare that "democracy" is what he is fighting undermines that whole line of thought.
When he notes that the elections will bring the majority Shias to power (along with the Sunni Kurds too, of course and any Arab Sunnis who wish a new and better life), one might think that Thug One is just announcing the bleeding obvious. But no, he gives his game away:
The speaker said candidates running in the Jan. 30 elections are "demi-idols" and those who vote for them "are infidels." U.S. and Iraqi officials fear insurgent attacks and have announced massive security measures to protect voters.
"You have to be careful of the enemy's plan to implement so-called democracy in your country," he added. He said the Americans have engineered the election "to make Shiites dominate the regime in Iraq. Four million Shiites were brought from Iran to take part in the elections to achieve their aim of winning" most of the positions.
One would think that one of the so-called "Minutemen" of Iraq wouldn't speak ill of the majority population he is supposedly trying to liberate. But oh yeah, he isn't even Iraqi and he has made clear that he just wants to kill Americans and Shias--not help Iraqis. Thug One is speaking to the region's Sunnis to instill the fear of the Shias. He calls them "demi-idols" or "infidels." Perhaps recruiting is poor. Perhaps contributions are down. He is speaking to "the base" (so to speak). He even adds the whole Persian-Arab divide in case some in his audience are too dense to understand the Shia-baiting. Thug One says we've brought in 4 million Iranian Shias to vote in the elections! The conspiracy of all conspiracies! American intrigue combined with the denial that Sunnis in Iraq were a minority dictatorship oppressing the Shia majority! Next he'll invite Jesse Jackson in to protest the results.
Zarqawi continues to alienate the Shias and makes sure that an increasingly powerful and assertive Iraqi government will go after the foreign jihadis quite ruthlessly. The Sunnis too will be targets if they don't shape up real fast. But the Sunnis are being stupid long after I thought they would get a clue. The Sunnis have time still to join the national resistance against Thug One and his foreign jihadi invaders and thus cement their place in the new, democratic Iraq.
Because democracy is what our enemies fight to prevent.
