Zarqawi Reportedly Replaced 

(Amman, Jordan) The son of the deceased mentor of Osama bin Laden announced that Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been replaced.

From DailyTimes.com.pk:

"The Iraqi resistance's high command asked Zarqawi to give up his political role and replaced him with an Iraqi, because of several mistakes he made," said Hudayf Azzam, who claims close contacts with the rebels.

"Zarqawi's role has been limited to military action," said Azzam, whose late father Abdullah Azzam was the mentor of bin Laden, the Al-Qaeda boss.

"Zarqawi bowed to the orders two weeks ago and was replaced by Iraqi national Abdullah bin Rashed al-Baghdadi," Azzam said.

Azzam, 35, whose father was known as the "prince of mujahedeens," said he regularly received "credible information on the resistance in Iraq." He said Zarqawi "made many political mistakes," including "the creation of an independent organisation, Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Zarqawi also took the liberty of speaking in the name of the Iraqi people and resistance, a role which belongs only to the Iraqis," Azzam said.

[ ... ]

Nevertheless, the Amman-based Azzam insisted that Zarqawi remains strong on the ground. "He is stronger than before on the battlefield and the resistance has profited from his military experience," he said.

"Five organisations - the Mujahedeen Army, Ansar al-Islam (also known as Ansar al-Sunna), the Islamic Army for the Liberation of Iraq, Al-Tawid Wal Hujra and Revolution 20 Brigades - have rallied around Zarqawi," he said.

Azzam also expected "several mistakes made in the past, such as some hostage-taking, not to occur again." Asked about the wave of abductions in Iraq targeting journalists, Azzam said, "Not all journalists are innocent."

In a nutshell, Azzam says Zarqawi is a great military man but he stuck his nose in other areas, so he's been booted. I guess the biggest complaints are that Zarqawi is not an Iraqi and, as a terrorist, he's not at all particular about who he kills. Of course, given the terrorists adroit manipulation of the media, it's conceivable that this latest announcement is a ploy.


[Update 04/03/06]

Chad Evans has more discussion at In The Bullpen. Interestingly, he also is skeptical about the importance of the announcement. Go visit.