By Alex Lurie, Contributing Writer

The most-wanted man in Iraq, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, appears to have a past as evasive as his current whereabouts. International intelligence agencies know very little about this Jordanian's background, but it is quite clear that he has emerged as a leader in the Islamic jihad against the United States and the Jews. Currently, he heads a terrorist organization named Jamaat al-Tawhid wa'l-Jihad (Unity and Jihad Group) that operates out of Iraq. Although he has only come into the consciousness of intelligence agencies in the past five years, his life as a malcontent began long ago.

Zarqawi grew up in filth in the crime-ridden city of Zarqa, Jordan. It is here where his largely undocumented life began. Because of his lifelong status as either a transient or a fugitive, many of his rudimentary biographical facts, including his exact date of birth, are disputed. His family lived in extreme poverty, and he relied on petty theft to help make ends meet. Locals remember him as a simple, short-fused hothead who could barely read. Nonetheless, he clearly possessed an innate ability to lead large groups of people.

When Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan in the 1980s, Zarqawi joined many other young Muslims to help fend off Soviet forces; their resistance group became known as the "Afghan Arabs." During his time in Afghanistan, he came into contact with several radical Islamic fundamentalists, including Osama bin Laden. He returned to Jordan in the early '90s set on promoting the fundamentalist agenda.

Soon after his return to his homeland, he was arrested on charges of conspiring to overthrow the Jordanian monarchy in favor of an Islamic caliphate. From 1993 to '99, Zarqawi sat in prison, where the radical inklings he developed in Afghanistan evolved into a full-blown hatred of Westerners and Jews. From the time of his release forward, pinpointing his exact location has become next to impossible.

Western European intelligence agencies report that he fled to Europe and initiated several terrorist cells from 2000 to '02. U.S. intelligence reports also acknowledge his presence in Germany. However, they also place him in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other Middle East countries during that time, running al-Qaida recruitment camps and plotting terrorist strikes against Israeli targets.

In early 2002, German officials broke up a militant cell whose members claimed allegiance to Zarqawi. The vast majority of the cell was rounded up, but Zarqawi was not among the captives. During interrogation by German officials, however, members of the cell consistently stated that the group was "especially for Jordanians who did not want to join al-Qaida." They seemed to indicate that the two have been power-hungry rivals ever since their days fighting the Soviets. These statements conflict with American intelligence reports, which claim that al-Qaida designated Zarqawi as the leader of its Iraqi base. The truth behind the Zarqawi/al-Qaida association remains an important point of contention, as it would further test the legitimacy of American intelligence leading up to the war in Iraq.

Whatever the case may be, Zarqawi has propelled himself onto the international stage since March 2003. American intelligence has accused him of organizing a slew of deadly attacks, from the 2003 hotel bombing in Casablanca to the March 2004 train bombing outside Madrid. His group has also been accused of wreaking havoc throughout Iraq, killing Westerners and prominent Western sympathizers. His trademark procedure involves kidnapping an American soldier or contractor and videotaping the beheading of the detainee. Furthermore, he has been linked with plots to attack American targets. He has done all this without coming close to being caught. Many now consider him as big of a threat to international security as bin Laden. Consequently, the U.S. has placed the same bounty on his head, $25 million, as they have for bin Laden.

Despite the best efforts of intelligence agencies across the globe, Zarqawi remains as evasive as ever. In fact, according to the Weekly Standard (May 24, 2004), the CIA apparently does not even know his weight or height. This comes as grim news to many who realize that the prolonged international manhunt for this terrorist has so far been in vain.