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Friday, June 9, 2006 12:00 AM

Bush on Zarqawi, by the numbers

The president has plenty to say about Zarqawi now, but he wasn't a central part of the justification for war.

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  • Friday, June 9, 2006 01:38 PM

    Propaganda

    There is no contradiction in maintaining that Zarqawi was used for propaganda in the run-up to the war while failing to make lots of uses of his name. After all, allowing him to stay in Iraq (in, mind you, an area of the country outside of Saddam's control), gave the administration the ability to refer to known terrorist training camps in Iraq. We had knowledge of such camps run by Zarqawi before the war, and we knew where they were. This meant that the administration could have ordered attacks to destroy these camps had they so desired. On the other hand, allowing them to persist gave the administration a tool for propaganda purposes. That Zarqawi's name was not often specifically used in referring to these camps does not negate the fact that he was being used for propaganda. This makes sense, as, back then, Zarqawi's name meant nothing to the American public, and referring to him by name would have had much effect. Now, however, with him having been in the news by name for three years, his name alone has propaganda value.

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