Al Zarqawi apologizes again and makes another blunder

An audiotape in the name of al-Qaida in Iraq threatened on Friday to chop off King Abdullah II's head and bomb more hotels and tourist sites. The speaker on the tape, identified as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, also said the group's suicide bombers did not intend to bomb a Jordanian wedding party at an Amman hotel last week, killing about 30 people.

First, Abdullah II is heir to the Hashemite throne, which traces its descent directly from the Prophet Muhammad; second, he is loved in Jordan and well respected by Sunnis in the Arab world; third, nobody will believe the stupid apology about not intending to kill Muslims at the Radisson Hotel wedding in Amman; fourth, almost at the same time of issuing his apology, he blew up two mosques (Shia) in eastern Iraq.

Another sign of desperation: Consider who Zarqawi sent to run the Amman operation, Mrs. Al-Rishawi’s husband. He also a member of Zarqawi’s inner circle. He is now dead. Why did Zarqawi send a top officer to die? He has already lost so many. It suggests that either he’s running short of suicide bombers (typically Saudi recruits) or he’s running short of people he trusts. Either way, it’s a sign of desperation. Meanwhile, Mrs. al-Rishawi is alive and apparently talking. She can certainly tell her interrogators the location of the other insurgents and perhaps Zarqawi’s hiding place.

Time is running out for Zarqawi. And the Amman blasts may have only sped up the inevitable.

jordan, Al Zarqawi, Abdullah