Breaking news on
CBS' website:
The U.S. has obtained a 13-page letter written by Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al Zawahiri, to Abu Musab al Zarqawi in Iraq, outlining with what one senior official calls "chilling clarity" al Qaeda's stretagy [sic] for Iraq and beyond
Update [2005-10-6 23:0:52 by pb]: Reuters has it now, soon everyone else will. Perhaps this is the big distraction for
tomorrow.
Update [2005-10-7 2:16:27 by pb]: WaPo has it now as well--and surprise, surprise, it sounds like the administration intentionally leaked it to keep controlling the news cycle... more below the fold.
U.S. officials said the letter was captured during counterterrorism operations in Iraq, but they were unwilling to specify how or when, and would provide only two quotes from it. The senior official said it has been authenticated "based on multiple sources over an extended period of time." They released information about the letter to four news organizations -- saying word of its existence had started leaking out to reporters -- on the same day that President Bush delivered a speech about the war on terrorism.
Does this strike anyone else as being just a bit too convenient? Bush has his speech, and then al-Qaeda just tells us what they're planning?
As outlined by Zawahiri in the letter, al Qaeda's battle plan calls for driving the Americans out of Iraq, establishing an Islamic regime in as much of the country as possible and then extending the holy war to other Arab countries, including Egypt, Lebanon and Syria.
Gee, now that we have this letter, does this mean we're supposed to 'stay the course' now? Who else would want us to do that?
Also: how many breaking terror stories do we need in one day? We get the message... be afraid, be very afraid--I hear you loud and clear!