You Might Be A Plantation Negro If You Still Believe "Al Qaeda" Is What The Media Says It Is ... (DMG Lesson 214)

IN MARCH, he was declared captured. In May, he was declared killed, and his purported corpse was displayed on state-run TV.

On Wednesday, Omar al-Baghdadi, the supposed leader of an al-Qaeda-affiliated group in Iraq, was declared non-existent by US military officials, who say he is a fictional character created to give an Iraqi face to a foreign-run terrorist group.

In reality, said Brigadier-General Kevin Bergner, an Iraqi actor has read statements attributed to al-Baghdadi, who has been identified since October as the leader of the group, known as Islamic State of Iraq.

The information came from a man captured by US forces early this month, General Bergner said. Identified as Khaled al-Mashhadani, he served as a propaganda chief in the same organisation, a Sunni insurgent group that claims allegiance to Osama bin Laden.

General Bergner said Mashhadani helped create Islamic State of Iraq as a "virtual organisation" that is essentially a pseudonym for al-Qaeda in Iraq. The front organisation was aimed at making Iraqis believe that al-Qaeda in Iraq is a nationalistic group, even though it is led by an Egyptian and has few Iraqis among its leaders, he said.