By SITE Institute
May 4, 2005
An anonymous letter posted today on an al-Qaeda affiliated jihadi message board urges Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, to understand that "military operations alone will not end the American project and will neither defeat the American nor the Iraqi forces...". The highly detailed letter calls for attacks against Iraqi oilfields and pipelines. The poster contends that while "[mujahideen] operations limited the efficiency and number of [Iraqi guards]…the American project for Iraq was established… [so that Iraq] will be the first country in history that finances its [own] occupation" by utilizing Iraq's oil wealth. He also states that Iraqi oil "supplies the American forces, and the other foreign forces, with 60% of their need for benzene and gasoline" and that "Iraq exports 1.6 million barrels… which were sold last year for only $18 million."
The poster, who has been "following [the Iraqi mujahideen] from the beginning of the heroic operations", suggests a change in focus from attacking troops to attacking the infrastructure which supports foreign troops. Specifically, rather than attempt to win the war using military techniques, "to paralyze the American army, and defeat their agents in Iraq, the oil [reserves] in al-Dora, Biji and al-Basra should be destroyed completely…" He justifies this by stating that "destruction of the oilfields and the pipelines is legitimate. If this[destruction of oilfields and pipelines] is not achieved there is no way the American project in Iraq will be defeated, whatever attacks occur [against them]…[however] If the oil stops, the American forces will retreat within a maximum of one year, and the government they established in Iraq will fall."
The poster further entreats Zarqawi to remember the failure of the Algerian jihad movement. He identifies the fact that "nobody touched the oil pipelines which lay in the Algerian ground for thousands of kilometers" as being the major strategic flaw which allowed the Algerian government to remain in power.
http://siteinstitute.org/bin/articles.cgi?ID=publications42705&Category=publications&Subcategory=0
Thanks penguino.