Al-Qaeda site names Zarqawi's successor
By Roula Khalaf in London
Published: June 12 2006 17:52 | Last updated: June 12 2006 17:52

A website used by Iraq's al-Qaeda on Monday claimed the group had appointed
a successor to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the terrorist leader killed last week
in a US strike.
Security experts were trying to determine the background of the militant
apparently chosen - Abu Hamza al-Muhajer - an unkown insurgent whose name
had not been considered by US officials as the main candidate.

Some Iraqi officials, however, suggested al-Muhajer - whose name means "the
immigrant," may be another pseudonym for Abu al-Masri, an Egyptian who,
according to US military officials, had been designated by Zarqawi as his
successor.

The announcement came as President George W. Bush began two days of talks on
Iraq with his national security team.

The killing of Zarqawi last Wednesday night gave a rare boost to an
embattled US administration and to the new Iraqi government of Nuri
al-Maliki, the prime minister.

But American and Iraqi officials have warned that the successful military
operation would not end the insurgency, and may, in the short term, provoke
an even deadlier campaign by extremists determined to prove they can survive
Zarqawi.

Top US officials were expected to hold a videoconference with Iraqi leaders
to encourage them to capitalise on the momentum created by Zarqawi's
elimination.

The administration needs to achieve more substantial progress in defeating
the insurgency before it can justify returning some of the more than 130,000
US troops home. President Bush has so far resisted calls for a timetable for
withdrawal but the new government will be working with US officials on a
credible schedule for the transfer of Iraqi provinces to local troops, which
would facilitate the removal of some American forces.

Security experts say the killing of Zarqawi, who sparked the sectarian
strife now wracking Iraq, has dealt a strong blow to al-Qaeda, the group
that attracted many of the foreign fighters to the country. But the
organisation is only a small part of an amorphous network of Islamist and
nationalist insurgents, some of whom may benefit from the removal of a
non-Iraqi leader.

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/2f47edaa-fa33-11da-b7ff-0000779e2340.html

Bush heard bubbling, "Whaa cain't dey leave me alone".


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