From CNN:
An intercepted letter from Osama bin Laden’s deputy to the al Qaeda leader in Iraq complains that the terrorist network is short of cash and faces defeat in Afghanistan, a Pentagon spokesman says.
The United States obtained a recent letter that appears to be from Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda’s No. 2 figure, to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, outlining both the strategy and concerns of the terrorist network, said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman.
In the letter, al-Zawahiri warns that some of the tactics currently employed by the insurgency, including the slaughtering of hostages and the suicide bombings of Muslim civilians, may risk alienating the “Muslim masses,” Whitman said Thursday.
Reading from a summary of the letter, Whitman said al-Zawahiri concedes that al Qaeda has lost many key leaders, is resigned to defeat in Afghanistan, and that its lines of communication and funding sources have been seriously disrupted. Al-Zawahiri includes a plea for financial support, indicating he is strapped for money, Whitman said.
He could not say when the letter was intercepted or when authorities believe it might have been written.
The lengthy communication was said to detail the strategy of Muslim extremists to push the United States out of Iraq and establish an Islamic state that could expand its form of governance to neighboring countries, Whitman said.
[Some useful background here].
Senior U.S. officials told CNN that the 6,000-word letter is believed to have been written within days of the July 7 terror attacks in London. Only parts of the letter have been made public, the officials said.
The decision to confirm the existence of the letter came after an incomplete and partially inaccurate version was leaked to news organizations, the senior officials said.
Earlier Thursday, President Bush made similar points about the terror network in what aides billed as a “major speech” on the war on terrorism, which was launched after al Qaeda’s September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.
Bush repeated his long-standing contention that Iraq had become the central front in that conflict, and said a U.S. withdrawal from that currently unpopular conflict would leave behind a country ruled by bin Laden and al-Zarqawi.
“We will not stand by as a new set of killers dedicated to the destruction of our own country seizes control of Iraq by violence,” Bush said.
Oh. Well, pardon me for saying so, but this story seems at least to hint at that elusive “plan” that many in the media—and most Congressional Democrats and their supporters on the left—can’t seem to find anywhere, no matter how many times the President or his supporters outline it for them.
And more than that—it seems to suggest the plan may actually be working. Go figure.
Reagan essentially bankrupted the Soviet Union by forcing it to overextend itself and to overspend; could something similar be happening here?
I mean, when a terror organization is reduced to posting job listings, are we to take that as a sign of increasing strength…?
(h/t Tom Elia)
****
update: Are the Sunnis starting to come around? From Reuters:
Saleh al-Mutlak, a secular nationalist who was involved in negotiating a draft constitution, said a coalition of Sunni political groups close to insurgents was ready to promote such a dialogue to end the bloodshed that has ravaged Iraq since 2003.
“The fighting should stop,” Mutlak, who represents the National Dialogue movement, told Reuters. “We have fought for two-and-a-half years and the problem is it doesn’t work.”
…
“We must find a political solution,” he said. A ceasefire during Ramadan, which began this week, “should be a start for direct negotiations between the two sides.”
(h/t Tall Dave)
I question the timing.
I time the questioning.
CNN reported this? Ted Turner must be writhing in agony on the floor of his office having his station report such a favorable report on Bushitler’s Folly!
I won’t make up my mind about this until we hear from Jill. She’ll have a lame excu-, er, good explanation for all this. I’m sure of it.
Say. Anyone know how her subway ride went today?
Yes, this is unseemly gloating and yes, I’m a little ashamed.
“Asharq al-Awsat said on its Web site this week that al Qaeda had ‘vacant positions’ for video production and editing”
I love the sound of that. “Vacant positions”. Their employment was terminated, with extreme prejudice.
….slaughtering of hostages and the suicide bombings of Muslim civilians, may risk alienating the “Muslim masses,†…
Like a turd in the soup “may” risk alienating future restaurant patrons.
Usually when a business post an opening it’s a sign of growth, but in this case….. not so much
Short of cash? The bastards are always whining.
I actually applied for a position with al Qaeda. This might sound a little crazy, but as a Republican I love war and I hate gays and women–plus, I like to fly–so I thought I’d be a pretty good fit. Problem #1: no drinking at work or home–not even bourbon! Oh sure, the twice-daily hookah breaks are cool, but when I start to get all paranoid I need a little Gentleman Jack to chill me out. Problem #2: no starting the day with a tasty bacon egg croissanwich Problem #3: No dogs at company picnic. Problem #4: no eating with hand I use to defile myself. Problem #5: The death benefits sound good, but I can’t verify actual payment. Problem #6: union dues.
So, all of these problems, plus the pay totally sucks. I mean, hello guys, but where’s all of the opium and oil money I’ve heard about? When I was working with the IRA I got 80k and all the Guiness and Bushmills I could handle! The Medein cartel paid me $200k/yr just to swallow condoms and accrue frequent flyer miles. Compare that to…drum roll…$8.50/hr starting with Qaeda. Are you fucking kidding me? At the Qaeda interview, Zarkie rambled on and on some shit about doing it for the glory of Islam, and I’m thinking, “So this means we get screwed pay-wise, right?” Fuck those guys. I’m staying in real estate.
Dammit!!! I hate time tests!!!
C’mon Ay-Man don’t you get the reality-based news? You guys are winning hands down. Don’t you know every time one of or misguided soldiers shoots a jihadi another 10 are there to take his place.
edog:
You owe me a new keyboard.
TW: served. As in rehearsing for entry level postion: “Would you like that McJihad Pita served with feta cheese or tahini sauce?”
Note to self: When attempting to recruit members for your global jihad, and win hearts and minds of those associated with the movement, make sure you don’t actually blow up those who might want to join or those who might be deemed sympathetic. As far as marketing strategies go, dead people don’t make good marketers.
Petrarus,
Okay, but you’ll have to settle for a Dvorak type keyboard.
As far as marketing strategies go, dead people don’t make good marketers.
Two words: Che “ch-ching” Guevara
No, I don’t count onemotepia as a word, nor do I know how to spell it.
onimo..
onematipea
onematepo
Fuck it. Where’s that hookah.
Just when the French come up with a new chic line of terrorist sports wear.
So al-Zawahiri is pushing for an end to suicide bombings of Muslims and the killing of hostages and is also against the American presence in Iraq. Looks like we have a front-runner for next year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
I thought MSNBC did that for them.
http://michaelyon.blogspot.com/2005/10/battle-for-mosul-iv.html
Good news is like the sun – you can’t hide it forever…
Cheers – DC
“Terrorist sports wear.” Ah, so now we know where “Thread Killer” comes from.
TW: This, as in “this post was probably a waste of your time.” I’d like to apologize.
Winning?
“I don’t know if I have the moral authority to send troops into combat anymore,” a senior American general recently told United Press International.
He knows what his power means—that on his word hundreds or thousands of young men would step into danger.
“I’m no longer sure I can look (a soldier or a Marine) in the eye and say: ‘This is something worth dying for.’”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/upi/20050912-042717-9783r.htm
I think the soldiers in Deuce Four (and others on the ground in Iraq) could answer that question – they’ve seen the bad guys up close and seen the impact of their efforts there.
It’s the useful idiots here in the US that continue to portray us as evil, imperialistic, and well, just “HitlerBurtonFragialisticChimpyLiedForOil”. We are grinding the “insurgents” down and will eventually leave Iraq in capable Iraqi hands.
All this, I’m sure, will be terrible news to those who hate the USA from the outside and within our own borders. Not that success in Iraq will be reported – the useful idiots rely on media “sound bites”, “polling”, and CINDY (TM) as their absolute “moral authority”.
To that, I hold up two very purple-stained fingers, in a “V”. You can take the connotation any way you wish…
Cheers – DC
You bet your sweet ass we’re winning.
To whit:
1.) Michael Barone’s post on the decision to share Iraq’s oil wealth among all its citizens–which will make the idea of democracy a hell of a lot sweeter to the Iraqis.
2.) The revelation of Al Qaeda’s long-range plan explaining the nature of Islamo-fascism and underscoring exactly how right the Bush administration is.
Both of these items aren’t getting a lot of coverage by the MSM, but they appear to be correct.
I strongly suspect that this will be known to history as the decade the Press As We Know It became irrelevant. I know a lot of people who really believe that we are about to be driven out of the Middle East, but none of those people are there.
What news I have from actual people who are actually living and working in Afghanistan and Iraq suggests rather the opposite.
How will it all end? Who knows, as long as Iran doesn’t make it to Nuclearhood, in which case I have a pretty good idea how it’s going to end.
TW: Summer Glau (Yes, I am Shilling for Serenity.)