Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/killings-raise-questions-about-insurgents-tactics Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript In an Internet statement, the militant group al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility for killing two U.S. soldiers. Terrorism experts discuss the tactics and leadership of insurgents in Iraq. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. JIM LEHRER: Now, more on the people who today claimed responsibility for the soldiers' kidnappings and deaths. Lawrence Wright is a staff writer for the New Yorker magazine. He's written extensively on al-Qaida and is author of the forthcoming book, "The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11."Alexis Debat is a senior fellow at the Nixon Center, former official in the French defense ministry. He's also a terrorism consultant for ABC News.Lawrence Wright, what do you make of these claims that the new leader of al-Qaida in Iraq personally killed these two soldiers? LAWRENCE WRIGHT, The New Yorker Magazine: Well, if he's trying to follow in Zarqawi's footsteps, that's how Zarqawi made himself known to the world: by slaughtering an American live on the Internet. And, you know, he put himself out there as a rival to bin Laden and to Zawahiri.I think that his successor wants to let us know that he's also a force to be contended with. JIM LEHRER: Do you agree with that? ALEXIS DEBAT, The Nixon Center: Absolutely. I think a big part of al-Qaida in Iraq's strategy in Iraq involves the media. And this is really al-Masri stepping into the spotlight, if you will. JIM LEHRER: And al-Masri is saying, by this act, I'm just like Zarqawi or worse, or what's the message here? ALEXIS DEBAT: It's hard to say. Al-Masri is certainly not like Zarqawi. He's much more of a professional terrorist; he's much more political. He's also apparently… JIM LEHRER: What does that mean, more professional, more political? ALEXIS DEBAT: He is a former member of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, which was active in Egypt in the 1980s. And he is a follower, if not a protege, of Ayman al-Zawahiri. And he has… JIM LEHRER: Remind us who he is now. ALEXIS DEBAT: Ayman al-Zawahiri is al-Qaida's number two. JIM LEHRER: Number-two guy, below Osama bin Laden. ALEXIS DEBAT: Below Osama bin Laden, very much the strategist behind Osama bin Laden. Abu Ayyub al-Masri has been living in Zawahiri's shadow for a very long time, learning at the feet of the master, if you will. And in that regard, he can be considered as much more — I mean, really much more political, which is using violence much more discriminately, but for a mass effect.