U.S. military: Letter to al-Zarqawi complains of low morale
Finishing touches on government formation
Tuesday, May 3, 2005 Posted: 10:29 AM EDT (1429 GMT)
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The U.S. military said Tuesday it has seized a letter from Iraqi insurgents believed to be intended for terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi complaining about low morale among his followers and weakening support for the insurgency.
The authenticity of the letter -- found last Thursday by American troops conducting a raid in Baghdad --could not be independently verified.
The letter -- which never refers to al-Zarqawi by name -- is written to Sheik Abu Ahmad, a name not known to be used by al-Zarqawi or his followers. But followers do often call al-Zarqawi the Sheik or Sheik Abu Musab in letters and on Web sites.
"While the letter advocates Jihad and praises 'the Sheik' for being 'a thorn in the mouth of the Americans,' the main purpose of the letter is to address low morale, weakening support for the Jihad, and the incompetence of many of the Mujahideen leaders," the military news release said.
The letter is dated April 27, the military said.
The author of the letter also "admonishes the 'the Sheik' for abandoning his followers" after the Falluja siege late last year.
U.S. forces led an assault last fall on the Sunni Triangle city's terrorist network that is believed to be run by al-Zarqawi.
Because of the "continuous pressure by Iraqi and coalition forces," the statement said, al-Zarqawi has relied on his cell leaders to conduct operations while he is forced to evade being killed or captured.
U.S. troops said last week that they nearly caught al-Zarqawi in February after receiving a tip that the Jordanian-born terrorist leader might be traveling to Ramadi, west of Falluja. (Full story)
The author of the letter, the military said, is a member of the terrorist group widely known as al Qaeda in Iraq -- or Qa'idat al-Jihad Fi Bilad Al-Rafidayn.
The author's name is Abu Asim al-Qusaymi al-Yemeni, the military statement said.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman refused to characterize the letter, only saying "it does reflect a certain amount of proof that Zarqawi's influence and effectiveness is deteriorating."
Whitman said the U.S. military has had success in degrading al-Zarqawi's network, killing or capturing nearly two dozen of his top lieutenants.
"They can still carry out attacks," said Whitman, acknowledging the bloody weekend of attacks in Iraq that killed dozens of people. "It's not hard to kill innocent men, women and children."
Whitman insisted that al-Zarqawi has failed to reach any of his strategic objectives, as Iraq's new government continues to form, the economy to grow, reconstruction to move forward, and the Iraqi military to increase in number and effectiveness. |
