An interesting communication found in a raid on an al Qaeda in Iraq safehouse had yielded some insight into what al Qaeda in Iraq has found successful, what it fears and what it proposes as strategy for the future -at least through the eyes of one jihadist who wrote the letter, that being Abu Safyan.
I'm going to go ahead and pick out the quotes from the actual letter from the article here at CNN:
And what I think is the most telling part of the article on this letter found, is this:
It's right there - it is more proof that the Awakening Councils are really, really having an effect on al Qaeda in Iraq. They talk about a media campaign so hopefully, the U.S. can work with the Iraqi government to shut off any access that al Qaeda in Iraq could try to must to the media.
The one thing this letter does also show is this: al Qaeda in Iraq is not shaking in its boots. You can see the confidence in this letter - the planning alone shows a man who is not going to give up. So, when you are confronted with an enemy who will not give up, you simply need to redouble your efforts to exterminate him.
I'm going to go ahead and pick out the quotes from the actual letter from the article here at CNN:
"We must always leave the enemy in psychological conflict" so that "they can never have stability," according to the document. With such instability, they "will not all unite against us," it adds.
The letter details the need for fostering "security chaos" among the anti-al Qaeda in Iraq and mostly Sunni awakening groups, Shiites and Kurds, the coalition forces, and the government.
"This will lead to weaken them, particularly the Maliki Shia government, by wisely, intelligently and cautiously spreading sedition among them," the letter said, referring to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
"We will work against them and attack them as they fight among themselves," Abu Safyan is quoted as saying.
Abu Safyan talks about the need to "bring many brothers who have sharia knowledge and abide by the teachings of Islam from the outside of Iraq."
"They will explain to the people why we are fighting and whom we are fighting with, we must explain to them whom the mujahideen are and who are the people we're fighting."
And what I think is the most telling part of the article on this letter found, is this:
In the letter, Abu Safyan considers awakening groups a top threat to al Qaeda in Iraq and proposes a media campaign that would discredit the awakening forces by passing along false information about them.
It's right there - it is more proof that the Awakening Councils are really, really having an effect on al Qaeda in Iraq. They talk about a media campaign so hopefully, the U.S. can work with the Iraqi government to shut off any access that al Qaeda in Iraq could try to must to the media.
The one thing this letter does also show is this: al Qaeda in Iraq is not shaking in its boots. You can see the confidence in this letter - the planning alone shows a man who is not going to give up. So, when you are confronted with an enemy who will not give up, you simply need to redouble your efforts to exterminate him.
Militant's letter: Generate chaos, 'psychological conflict'
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The U.S. military says a recent raid uncovered a detailed letter from an al Qaeda in Iraq militant to the group's leader about how the insurgent network should continue to generate economic chaos and "psychological conflict" and must bear down against American-backed Sunni militias.
Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday about a letter to Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the head of al Qaeda in Iraq, from a militant named Abu Safyan. The document was posted on the Multi-National Forces-Iraq Web site.
The sentiments reflect the tenacity of and continuing challenges posed by the predominantly Sunni militant network believed to be responsible for bombings that erupted across Iraq on Tuesday. Bergner said it "provides further evidence about the strategy and tactics of violence" the group is pursuing.
Bergner said a March 5 raid northwest of Baghdad resulted in three insurgents killed, including Abu Safyan, and three others captured. Troops seized a suicide vest, computer material and a stack of documents, including the document from Abu Safyan -- who was believed to be from Diyala province. Abu Safyan lays out a variety of tactics that militants should pursue.
Abu Safyan also called for organizing fighting groups by having an emir as commander with sniper, assassination and martyrs' groups.
It also cautions vigilance against allowing the "enemy" to infiltrate its apparatus and exhorts its fighters to keep silent about operations.
Sometimes, "they speak of our operations and area's secrets among their families and their wives in their houses, which unfortunately lead to the spread of our secrets.
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