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Some See Hints of Disharmony in Qaeda Tapes
NY Times ^ | May 1, 2006 | DAVID JOHNSTON and MARK MAZZETTI

Posted on 04/30/2006 9:24:35 PM PDT by neverdem

WASHINGTON, April 30 — The broadcasts last week by three of the world's best-known terrorist leaders shared at least one common goal, American intelligence officials say. They sought to embarrass the West by showing that the terrorists were still able to communicate with their followers, despite the intensive efforts to capture or kill them and the $25 million bounty that is on each of their heads.

But the officials interviewed on Sunday also said that the messages of the three men — Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi — show the differing motives and political interests of Al Qaeda's leadership.

Though messages from the three leaders have never before surfaced in the same week, the officials said there was no evidence that the men coordinated the timing of the release of the statements or collaborated on the language used in them.

Mr. Zarqawi, the leader of a terrorist group in Iraq that has allied itself with Al Qaeda, used his message to assert his primacy as a leader within the insurgency in Iraq and perhaps beyond, the officials said. Mr. bin Laden and Mr. Zawahiri — both of whom have diminished control over terrorist operations — seemed to be trying to position themselves as the inspirational voices of a broader militant movement.

Some intelligence experts said the tapes were likely to fuel the belief that Mr. bin Laden and Mr. Zarqawi were emerging as rivals for pre-eminence within Al Qaeda. Although Mr. Zarqawi pledged loyalty to Mr. bin Laden in 2004 and referred to him in his most recent videotape as "our prince," there was little else in his fiery message to suggest he was operating under orders from Mr. bin Laden.

While analysts are continuing to pore over the messages looking for hints of code words...

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: District of Columbia; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: abumusabalzarqawi; alqaeda; binladen; iraq; jihad; jordan; osamabinladen; terrorism; terrorists; ubl; videotape; zarqawi; zawahiri

1 posted on 04/30/2006 9:24:38 PM PDT by neverdem
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To: neverdem

BTTT


2 posted on 04/30/2006 9:25:55 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar
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To: Peach; Cindy; backhoe

Just a ping.


3 posted on 04/30/2006 9:43:50 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar
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To: Jet Jaguar
Thank you for the ping Jet Jaguar.

ON THE NET...

INTERNET-HAGANAH.com: "REVIEW: COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA STRATEGY IN THE JIHADI WAR OF IDEAS" (April 30, 2006)

INTERNET-HAGANAH.com: "YOUR WEEKEND READING ASSIGNMENTS" (April 28, 2006)

4 posted on 04/30/2006 9:59:08 PM PDT by Cindy
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To: neverdem
Some See Hints of Disharmony in Qaeda Tapes

We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place, until there is no refuge or no rest. And we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism.

Hmm. It all seems to be working exactly as the President told us it would in 2001. Too bad the mainstream media won't point that out. Ever.

5 posted on 04/30/2006 10:06:41 PM PDT by JennysCool (I can't wait until every 1960s-hippie-turned-"caring progressive" is dead.)
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To: All
Adding to post no. 4:

INTERNET-HAGANAH.com: "TRENDS IN AL-QAIDA MESSAGING..." (April 27, 2006)

6 posted on 04/30/2006 10:14:11 PM PDT by Cindy
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To: All

(Honestly, this is the last link)...Adding to post no. 4:


http://www.truthusa.com/911news.html


7 posted on 04/30/2006 10:15:50 PM PDT by Cindy
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To: neverdem
Some See Hints of Disharmony in Qaeda Tapes

Yeah, I noticed that as well.


8 posted on 04/30/2006 10:25:15 PM PDT by A CA Guy (God Bless America, God bless and keep safe our fighting men and women.)
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To: neverdem
I was going to note how infighting among them was a good thing ...

"Some intelligence experts said the tapes were likely to fuel the belief that Mr. bin Laden and Mr. Zarqawi were emerging as rivals for pre-eminence within Al Qaeda."

But then I saw this little gem:

The officials, including some with access to highly classified intelligence on counterterrorism issues, were given anonymity to speak more freely about delicate information.


What exactly is treason and where, if anyplace, does the NY Slimes draw the line? :-(

9 posted on 04/30/2006 10:59:11 PM PDT by Tunehead54 (Nothing funny here ;-)
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To: neverdem
People have an unlimited capacity to see what they want to. While it is axiomatic that AQ bigsh*ts have their egos, and thus are bound to have frictions, have we seen these frictions developing into internecine squabbles which would hobble and ultimately destroy AQ from within? While such a development always happened with feudal organizations, I doubt they are at that stage.
10 posted on 04/30/2006 11:04:09 PM PDT by GSlob
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To: Dog; Coop; AdmSmith; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Straight Vermonter; Calpernia; Deetes; jmc1969; ...

FYI


11 posted on 04/30/2006 11:21:14 PM PDT by Cap Huff
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To: neverdem

Mr. Zarqawi ... Mr. bin Laden and Mr. Zawahiri

It really frosts me that the lame old media, who never can say President Bush or Mr Bush etc, use Mr. with the likes of these scum.


12 posted on 05/01/2006 3:44:58 AM PDT by sd-joe
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To: Jet Jaguar

I think they are disorganized at this point, although it would still be relatively easy to have a cell in this country or Europe conduct an operation. Thanks for the ping, Jet.


13 posted on 05/01/2006 4:36:16 AM PDT by Peach
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To: Tunehead54
What exactly is treason and where, if anyplace, does the NY Slimes draw the line? :-(

Just because these officials spoke anonymously doesn't necessarily mean it was done without approval from their respective agencies. Sometimes these "leaks" are a valid way of communicating.

14 posted on 05/01/2006 5:54:57 AM PDT by Coop (Proud founding member of GCA - Gruntled Conservatives of America)
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