The captured letter sheds new light on the friction between al-Qaeda’s senior leadership and al-Qa`ida’s commanders in
Below are excerpts from the released letter from Atiyah to Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi:
I am now on a visit to them and I am writing you this letter as I am with them, and they have some comments about some of your circumstances, may God guide you, with due confidence, affection, respect, and esteem. They wish that they had a way to talk to you and advise you, and to guide and instruct you; however, they too are occupied with vicious enemies here. They are also weak, and we ask God that He strengthen them and mend their fractures.
Brother Abu-Musa’b, may God protect and guide you. Bless you, my brother. Know that we, like all the mujahidin, are still weak. We are in the stage of weakness and a state of paucity. We have not yet reached a level of stability. We have no alternative but to not squander any element of the foundations of strength, or any helper or supporter. We are unceasing in our efforts to unite our nation’s strength and resources.
The NIE report is fine and dandy, but here in the words OF the terrorists themselves, they are weakened, they are "fractured" and they are not stable. The war on terror is accomplishing exactly what it is supposed to accomplish.
No one said it was going to be a wham, Bam, thank you Ma'am, type situation. It is a war after all.