Al-Zarqawi Has Become Commander of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, and Perhaps Even in the Entire Middle East and North Africa

""The warfare policy of Qaedat Al-Jihad in Iraq:

"After the fall of Afghanistan, the Jihad fighter Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi, accompanied by his followers, set out for Kurdistan, where he began to prepare for the war of revenge against the American army that was about to invade Iraq. Commander Al-Zarqawi was a man of determined outlook, and therefore set out directly for Kurdistan, and from there began to prepare bases and arsenals throughout Iraq. Many Saudis went to Iraq in order to join Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi, who was well known in Afghanistan.

"The American war [in Iraq] began, but Abu Mus'ab did not make an appearance. It is quite possible that this was a deliberate [tactic]: [to wait] until the Iraqi Ba'ath regime fell, in order to make a clean start and to avoid any accusation of having aided the Ba'ath regime headed by Saddam and his men.

"After the fall of the Ba'ath party, Al-Zarqawi's organization emerged under its previous name: Jama'at Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad. Then came the great alliance, which brought us much joy: [Al-Zarqawi] swore an oath of allegiance to Sheikh Al-Islam the Imam and Jihad fighter, Osama bin Laden, and became the commander of Qaedat Al-Jihad in Iraq, and perhaps in the [entire] Middle East and North Africa. The operations of the Al-Qaeda organization steadily increased and continue to increase, and it now targets well-defined, carefully chosen targets, which are legitimate.

"In order to [achieve] these legitimate goals on Iraqi soil, Al-Zarqawi employs three main courses: "
MEMRI

H/T Rantburg

I wonder if this has anything to do with that rumor of Bin Laden's death in Pakistan