Al-Zarqawi’s Family Renounces Him
The AP’s Jamal Halaby is reporting that Al-Zarqawi’s Jordan family has renounced him:
The family of al-Zarqawi, whose real name is Ahmed Fadheel Nazzal al-Khalayleh, reiterated their strong allegiance to Jordan’s King Abdullah II in half-page advertisements in the kingdom’s three main newspapers. Al-Zarqawi threatened to kill the king in an audiotape released Friday. “A Jordanian doesn’t stab himself with his own spear,” said the statement by 57 members of the al-Khalayleh family, including al-Zarqawi’s brother and cousin. “We sever links with him until doomsday.”
This must be a stunning blow to Zarqawi’s credibility in the Middle East. To have one’s family essentially disown you in the Middle East is usually seen as the ultimate wound because families are often very tight-knit groups. That they “reiterated their strong allegiance to Jordan’s King Abdullah II in half-page advertisements in the kingdom’s three main newspapers” just makes their statements that much more emphatic.
The statement is a serious blow to al-Zarqawi, who no longer will enjoy the protection of his tribe and whose family members may seek to kill him. “As we pledge to maintain homage to your throne and to our precious Jordan…we denounce in the clearest terms all the terrorist actions claimed by the so-called Ahmed Fadheel Nazzal al-Khalayleh, who calls himself Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,” the family members said. “We announce, and all the people are our witnesses, that we, the sons of the al-Khalayleh tribe, are innocent of him and all that emanates from him, whether action, assertion or decision.” The statement said anyone who carried out such violence in the kingdom does not enjoy its protection.
That’s as straightforward a position as I’ve heard coming from the Middle East in a long, long time. The fact that he doesn’t enjoy his family’s protection isn’t something that’s often heard.
The al-Khalayleh tribe is a branch of the Bani Hassan, one of the area’s largest and most prominent Bedouin tribes, which help form the bedrock of support for the royal family’s Hashemite dynasty. Relatives hold senior posts in the army and other government departments.
This is the most damning blow against him. This isn’t just any Middle East family. This is a family with a ton of clout in the region. That they’re turning against him is proof that Saturday’s protests against Zarqawi weren’t just for show but was the Jordanians’ expression of outright anger with him.
Any military or political leader will tell you that you’re facing uphill sledding once you lose the majority of your base. That’s what appears to have happened here.
Cross-posted at BoxerWatch
November 21st, 2005 at 1:40 pm
The Christian Prophet blog early this morning seemed to confirm Zarqawi’s death. When government intel catches up, public opinion should shift about 15% in favor of the Iraq Rebuilding.
November 21st, 2005 at 2:27 pm
[...] After the wedding bombing in Jordan, and the protests, Zarkawi’s family renounced him for his tactics. Understandable, even laudable. [...]