The letter that set the stage for things to come

A simple thread.

I will refer to this article: Source

In a letter to his top deputy in
Iraq, al-Qaida's No. 2 leader said the United States "ran and left their agents" in Vietnam and the jihadists must have a plan ready to fill the void if the Americans suddenly leave Iraq.

yadda yadda, nothing interesting yet....

In a letter taking up 13 typed pages in its English translation, al-Zawahri also recommended a four-stage expansion of the war that would take the fighting to neighboring Muslim countries.

"It has always been my belief that the victory of Islam will never take place until a Muslim state is established ... in the heart of the Islamic world," al-Zawahri wrote.

The letter laid out his long-term plan: expel the Americans from Iraq, establish an Islamic authority and take the war to Iraq's secular neighbors, including Lebanon, Jordan and
Syria.

The final stage, al-Zawahri wrote, would be a clash with
Israel, which he said was established to challenge "any new Islamic entity."

There is your war. Will it come? Quite the list....

It gets a bit strange....

At times, the letter got personal. Al-Zawahri said he tasted the bitterness of America's brutality, noting that his "favorite wife's chest was crushed by a concrete ceiling" during an apparent U.S. attack. His daughter died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

To this day, he wrote, he did not know the location of their graves.

The letter then switches to the court of public opinion.

"More than half of this battle is taking place in the battlefield of the media," he wrote. "We are in a media battle in a race for the hearts and minds of our umma," or community of Muslims, he wrote.

The line is an apparent reference to a phrase — "hearts and minds" — often used by
President Bush.

Can anyone explain to me why on earth that would be wrote in the letter?

An interesting piece.

Read the entire thing here:

www.dni.gov...

[edit on 11-10-2005 by Dulcimer]

How come there is more and more of threads about the letters these terrorist wrote in this past few weeks. Seems kind a odd to me that they're stupid enough to keep using the traditional way of communicating one another when the letters usually get intercepted by the Coalition Forces.

One more note, I think someone discussed this letter in another thread already. Anyways, I think it's just a coincidence that the same phrase seemed to appear in the letter. Mind you that the letter was translated to english so it could be some other words of similar meaning to "hearts and minds" but the translator could purposely put just as that--"hearts and minds". Just a theory.

OK, I can see several points he is trying to make.

First, he talked about how America left it's agents in Vietnam (to die) -not said but implied. He is trying to scare anyone who is working for/with Americans rebuilding Iraq.

Second-he said the jihadists must have a plan ready to fill the void if the Americans suddenly leave Iraq. He means that he and his terrorists will try to take over the country if/when the US leaves.

Third, he said "It has always been my belief that the victory of Islam will never take place until a Muslim state is established ... in the heart of the Islamic world,” What about Iran? Clearly he means that Iraq should be a Muslim dictatorship (bet he means under him).

Forth he said the final stage, al-Zawahri wrote, would be a clash with
Israel, which he said was established to challenge "any new Islamic entity." Ok he is going to try and attack Israel hello Palestinians are already doing that. Would Israel do anything to stop his converting a democracy to a Muslim state?

He also said al-Zawahri also recommended a four-stage expansion of the war that would take the fighting to neighboring Muslim countries. So is he going to try to over through other countries? Saudi Arabia-long time friend of the US or others.


This occurs to me to be a roadmap he intends to follow. The other possibility is it was facked by Us/allies as an excuse to go into other counties to-fight him.


*Post edited for spelling

[edit on 10/11/2005 by mrmonsoon]