June 15, 2004

Purported Letter: Iraq Holy War in Danger

A leader of militants in Iraq has purportedly written to Osama bin Laden saying his fighters are being squeezed by U.S.-led coalition troops, according to a statement posted Monday on Islamic Web sites.

It was not possible to authenticate the statement allegedly from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian whose insurgent group claimed responsibility for the videotaped beheading of American Nicholas Berg.
[...]

"The space of movement is starting to get smaller," it said. "The grip is starting to be tightened on the holy warriors' necks and, with the spread of soldiers and police, the future is becoming frightening."
[That was the plan! I love it!--Jen]

The statement says the militant movement in Iraq is racing against time to form battalions that can take control of the country "four months before the formation of the promised Iraqi government, hoping to spoil their plan." It appears to refer to the government that would take office after the elections scheduled for January 2005.
[This means they're having to move the goalposts from the U.S. handover on June 30 to January so that they can still "win."
I love this, too!
They missed taking over by the handover and they know it.]

It also says insurgents are planning to intensify attacks on Iraqi soldiers and police, seen as collaborators with the U.S.-led coalition. Calling Iraqi forces "the occupier's eye, ear and hand," the statement says: "We are planning on targeting them heavily in the coming stage before they are fully in control."
[...]
The nine-page statement was longer than previous ones from al-Zarqawi, and uses classical Arabic language and poetry typical of militant leaders.
[...]
If the militants fail to take over Iraq, "we will have to leave for another land to uphold the (Islamic) banner, or until God chooses us as martyrs," the statement says.
[...]
The message also apparently seeks to reassure bin Laden that Iraqi militants are in league with his al-Qaida extremists.
[...]
The statement puts the Iraqi militants' enemies into four categories: the Americans, the Kurds, Iraqi police and soldiers; and the Shiites. Of the Shiites, it says: "If we succeed in dragging them into sectarian war, we could wake up the Sunnis."

Given what's been going on in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Syria and Lebanon, I seriously doubt the Sunnis need "waking up."
Note the confirmation that the "militants" in Iraq are tied to Al Queda, something which only the Left tends to doubt.
And significantly, VP Cheney today gave a speech affirmatively linking Saddam and Al Queda, something he and the Bush Administration has previously been reluctant to do before, even though we all knew of numerous ties.
All in all, this latest missive from al-Zarqawi proves that we are indeed pressing on to complete victory in OIF, so if you thought that we "retreated" in Falluja or Najaf or Kufa, worry no more!
(As if our Coalition troops would do anything less!)
And the "flypaper" theory is valid, too.
We fight the Enemy in Iraq so we don't have to fight them at the place and time of their choosing, like the streets of New York or Washington.