Most Wanted Fish Monger

Confessing my igonrance, I have just learned of the "infamous" Abu Deraa from this Times on Line article. With all the fanfare about Zarqawi, and the fools who actually thought that his death would make a difference, Deraa has been largely overlooked.

A Shi'ite, Deraa is largely credited with leading a subgroup of the Mahdi Army that may have already killed thousands of Sunnis, many of which were tourtured to death. Of course Deraa denies these claims.

As for using electric drills, I would never mutilate a human being because Islam prohibits mutilation, even for dogs.

But whether or not Deraa kills Sunnis with electric drills, he is a committed militant who will surely fight the occupation until his death, or until the occupation ends. He is largely overlooked by the media and never mentioned by the administration because he does not fit into the paradigm, or fantasy, that Iraq's problems and the leadership of the insurgency comes from militant clerics or foreign extremists. What was Deraa before the invation?

Of his background, he says little beyond confirming he used to sell fish: "I was a worker, like others, before the war," he said. "I gained recognition through my rejection of occupation, my love of my country and my support for the oppressed."

Asked if he is a terrorist, he replies rhetorically.

If someone who resists the occupation is a terrorist, then use whatever name you like -- God is watching from on high.