Interviewer: "How could Syrian intelligence get to Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi? What was their purpose? What did Syrian intelligence want?"
Jawhar: "It is not in the Syrians' interest for Iraq to remain calm even for a moment. They benefit from this. The more Iraq is destroyed, the more pleased they are, because if the Americans feel comfortable in Iraq, they will move on to many other places. For the same reasons, it is not in the Iranians' interest... I don't know if you noticed, but the Shi'ites started fighting the Americans only two years ago. It's not the Shi'ites - the Iranians asked them to fight, and sent them weapons, explosive devices, and so on, because if the Americans feel comfortable in Iraq, they will move on to the other areas. Have you forgotten about the New Middle East?"
[...]
MEMRI has posted excerpts from (and a link to the video of) an Al-Arabiya TV Interview with a Former Al-Qaeda Trainer in Iraq. Shehada Jawhar, is a former Al-Qaeda official in charge of training in Iraq. The interview with him aired on Al-Arabiya TV on December 7, 2007. In the interview, he discusses his journey to Iraq via Syria, the training and operations he carried out, his brothers in jihad, Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi, and the role played by Syrian intelligence.
It's interesting to read Jawhar's comments and how casually he throws out information. I would assume that intelligence agencies know this stuff anyway so he's under no illusion that it's secret any longer, I suppose. His tone, his words, his whole attitude just hammer home the one thought I've had for a while now with regard to the type of people who become terrorists. These animals are just foreign neighborhood thugs -- it's ridiculous that we need armies to squelch them. Really. Why not simply offer them shiny, expensive trinkets and free webcams instead...
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