[Dog]

A Mid-eastern intelligence agency has intercepted a letter from Ayman Zawahiri to the AQI leader-Al-Masri in Iraq..telling him to hit targets outside Iraq..

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article1845232.ece

[Two Thirds Vote Aye]

Thanks, Dog. Very interesting. Has the question EVER been answered...... Whether or not AQI was in Iraq before we went in, why do they command such a presence in Iraq on the front lines against us TODAY?

[Cap Huff]

Z may be spinning this to look like a position of strength, but I think al-Masri has his hands full right now in Iraq.

[Southack]

"The source said Zawahiri, a Sunni, was determined to prevent Lebanon falling into the hands of the Shi’ite Hezbollah movement, which has tried to bring down the government. “Al-Qaeda is trying very hard to seize a foothold in Syria,” the American source added."

...Sunni warring against Shi'ite is like a GOP candidate at war with either pro-lifers or pro-gunners in that those are both examples of your base not being solid before the main event.

One has to wonder if Saudi security forces have "turned" Al Qaida from being solely anti-American into being anti-Shi'ia Iranian, too.

Nonetheless, the above seems to jive with the agreement reached this weekend in Baghdad between Tehran and Washington regarding Iraq's future.

And considering our current maritime operations in the Gulf, I'd have to say that both carrot and stick are being applied in large measure to coax some sense into the Persian Mullahs.