PixelPusher
10-04-2006, 11:39 PM
In Bush's continuous effort to conflate the Iraq war with the war on terror, he says (paraphrasing) "Don't take my word for it, take al-Qaeda's word for it. They think Iraq is key to their war on the west..." and so on and so forth. Well, as long as we're taking their word for it...
The most important thing is that you continue in your jihad in Iraq, and that you be patient and forbearing, even in weakness, and even with fewer operations; even if each day had half of the number of current daily operations, that is not a problem, or even less than that. So, do not be hasty. The most important thing is that the jihad continues with steadfastness and firm rooting, and that it grows in terms of supporters, strength, clarity of justification, and visible proof each day. Indeed, prolonging the war is in our interest, with God’s permission.
That's an excerpt from a letter (PDF) (http://www.ctc.usma.edu/harmony/CTC-AtiyahLetter.pdf) found in Zarqawi's safe house after the bombing that killed him back in June. The letter is basically an admonishment from al-Qaeda higher ups telling him to stop being such a intolerant, bloodthirsty prick and think of the big picture. Zarqawi was alienating Sunnis by killing some of their leaders (which goes a long way to explaining the "overwhelmingly negative opinion of terror chief bin Laden" cited in the recent poll of Iraqis). Looks like killing him was less a blow to the al-Qaeda leadership than a convenient removal of an overzealous "loose canon" who didn't quite get with al-Qaeda's overall strategy for Iraq.
A couple of observations about the letter:
- Beneath all of the flowery, religious prose is a lot of practical, calculated, political advise not normally associated with "wild-eyed religious fanatics".
- It's nice to know the other side has their share of problems, too.
The most important thing is that you continue in your jihad in Iraq, and that you be patient and forbearing, even in weakness, and even with fewer operations; even if each day had half of the number of current daily operations, that is not a problem, or even less than that. So, do not be hasty. The most important thing is that the jihad continues with steadfastness and firm rooting, and that it grows in terms of supporters, strength, clarity of justification, and visible proof each day. Indeed, prolonging the war is in our interest, with God’s permission.
That's an excerpt from a letter (PDF) (http://www.ctc.usma.edu/harmony/CTC-AtiyahLetter.pdf) found in Zarqawi's safe house after the bombing that killed him back in June. The letter is basically an admonishment from al-Qaeda higher ups telling him to stop being such a intolerant, bloodthirsty prick and think of the big picture. Zarqawi was alienating Sunnis by killing some of their leaders (which goes a long way to explaining the "overwhelmingly negative opinion of terror chief bin Laden" cited in the recent poll of Iraqis). Looks like killing him was less a blow to the al-Qaeda leadership than a convenient removal of an overzealous "loose canon" who didn't quite get with al-Qaeda's overall strategy for Iraq.
A couple of observations about the letter:
- Beneath all of the flowery, religious prose is a lot of practical, calculated, political advise not normally associated with "wild-eyed religious fanatics".
- It's nice to know the other side has their share of problems, too.