Diary of a Jihadist Leader in Retreat

U.S. forces in Iraq confiscated a very valuable tool recently and that is the personal diary of a al Qaeda in Iraq leader, one who refers to himself as " Abu Tariq, Emir of al-Layin and al-Mashadah Sector."
What this diary primarily tells us is how hopeless the position is for al Qaeda in Iraq in some areas as well as points to the hatred of al Qaeda towards the Sunnis they saw as turning against them. The diary is also a very valuable piece of propaganda in that it shows how drastically hard hit, al Qaeda in Iraq has been. From the diary it lays out:

He once had 600 men, but now his force was down to 20 or fewer, he wrote. They had lost weapons and allies. Abu Tariq focused his anger in particular on the Sunni fighters and tribesmen who have turned against al-Qaeda in Iraq and joined the U.S.-backed Sunni Sahwa, or "Awakening," forces.

Another discovery of Abu Tariq's belongings were 20 decrees from him to his al Qaeda fighters to kill over 20 prisoners they had detained over time.
But the fact of the matter is simply that this leader of a 600 man fighting force at one time had been reduced to a sniveling, "Dear Diary" writing whiner and loser. He failed. His brand of terror failed. And we are seeing it day in and day out in Iraq that al Qaeda is failing - they are the occupiers in Iraq, not the Americans. I do find myself smiling as I picture this fool, sitting hunched over a diary in a dark tent lighted by a single oil lamp, sobbing and trying to write with his hands balled up in fists, screaming ... "HOW did this happen??!!" Haha. Good riddance, Abu Tariq.

Full story is here.

The diary of an insurgent in retreat
Al-Qaeda in Iraq figure lists woes

BAGHDAD - On Nov. 3, U.S. soldiers raided a safe house of the insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq near the northern city of Balad. Not a single combatant was captured, but inside the house they found something valuable: a diary and will written in neat Arabic script.
"We were mistreated, cheated and betrayed by some of our brothers," Abu Tariq wrote. "We must not have mercy on those traitors until they come back to the right side or get eliminated completely in order to achieve victory at the end."
The diary is the U.S. military's latest weapon in a concerted information campaign to undermine al-Qaeda in Iraq and its efforts to regroup and shift tactics. The movement remains strong in northern areas, and many American commanders consider it the country's most immediate security threat. In recent days, U.S. officials have released seized videos showing the Sunni insurgent group training children to kidnap and kill, as well as excerpts of a 49-page letter allegedly written by another al-Qaeda leader that describes the organization as weak and beset by low morale.
"It is important we get our story out," a U.S. military official said on condition of anonymity. "I firmly believe the information part of this conflict is as very vital as the armed element of it. . . . We don't want to lose that to al-Qaeda."
A scanned copy of the diary with names redacted with black ink was provided to The Washington Post on Saturday. Its contents provide a rare glimpse into the thoughts of an embattled al-Qaeda in Iraq leader, as well as a snapshot of an insurgent movement that is in turmoil in some parts of Iraq. It also reflects a growing conflict among Sunnis. Since October, attacks by al-Qaeda in Iraq against the Awakening fighters have doubled, said Maj. Winfield S. Danielson III, a U.S. military spokesman.
U.S. military officials said they are convinced the diary is authentic. Most, if not all of it, was written in October, and its tone of anger and bitterness is consistent with security improvements they were seeing in Balad at the time, they said. An estimated 450 Sunni Awakening fighters, also known to the U.S. military as "concerned local citizens," are now providing security in the area. The Post could not independently verify the diary's authenticity.