Regarding the al-Qaeda error that resulted in the deaths of some elite Palestinians (covered here a few days ago), Abu Musab al-Zarqawi wants to apologize, kinda-sorta:

“We ask God to have mercy on the Muslims, who we did not intend to target, even if they were in hotels which are centers of immorality,” the voice on the tape said.

“The idea that they blew up inside wedding ceremonies is a lie by the Jordanian regime … the target was a meeting of intelligence agencies, but a roof collapsed on a wedding party from the blast,” he said.

…

“We chose these hotels after over two months of thorough checks with trusted sources inside the hotels and elsewhere showed that they were centers for the Jewish, U.S. and Jordanian security apparatus,” Zarqawi said.

…

Zarqawi warned Jordan’s King Abdullah he could meet the same fate as a tribal warrior who fought the Prophet Mohammad.

“Here is another message to the little tyrant of Jordan. I address you after you threatened a nasty fate for those behind the blasts. Listen to these words,” he said, before relating the tale of Abu Jahl, who Muslim lore says lost his head in battle.

At first I thought Abu Jahl was the hero of the story, for losing his head. It’s hard to be clear on winners and losers when you’re dealing with a death cult.

The relevant question is whether this kind of sick apologizing and excuse-making will help make things alright again between Zarqawi and his former Palestinian sympathizers in Jordan and the rest of the neighborhood. Though I sincerely hope I’m wrong, my money will have to be on a big, dumb “Yep.”

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