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Terror chief losing grip, says US
The Times ^ | May 04, 2005 | James Hider

Posted on 05/04/2005 9:01:31 PM PDT by gandalftb

IRAQ’S terrorist mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is losing support and his men are suffering from low morale, American officials claimed yesterday after seizing a letter apparently intended for the Jordanian militant. “Morale is down and there is fatigue among mujahidin ranks,” the letter, whose authenticity cannot be verified, said. It also admonished Zarqawi for “abandoning” his followers after the siege of Fallujah last year.

The Pentagon said that the letter provided a “certain amount of proof that [Zarqawi’s] influence and effectiveness is waning”.

Nonetheless, insurgents have launched a wave of deadly attacks in recent days, killing around 170 people between the formation of Iraq’s new Government last week and its official swearing-in yesterday.

US officials said that the letter had been written by an al-Qaeda lieutenant named Abu Asim al-Qusaymi al- Yemeni and was addressed to Sheik Abu Ahjmad, an apparent alias for Zarqawi. It was seized in a raid on April 28 on a house in Baghdad — an operation that also yielded sketch maps for bomb attacks and kidnappings and a list of targets.

US officials said that the letter, dated the day before the raid, could be a sign of growing weakness and dissension in Zarqawi’s group, which carried out the beheading of Kenneth Bigley, the kidnapped British engineer, as well as scores of car bombings.

(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: alzarqawi; gwot; iraq; progress; zarqawi
Now that most of the Afghani old school muj are dead, the new leadership is probably not as hard-core and willing to make the sacrifices. Let's hope infighting and greed starts to flush them out.
1 posted on 05/04/2005 9:01:31 PM PDT by gandalftb
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To: gandalftb
.........Morale is down......

?....71 Virgins?

/sarcasm

2 posted on 05/04/2005 9:08:41 PM PDT by maestro
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To: gandalftb

Amazingly, they still call him a terrorist mastermind.


3 posted on 05/04/2005 9:20:06 PM PDT by LoudAmericanCowboy (''If the president just does more of the same every day...I may be handed Lebanon..."-John F'n Kerry)
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To: gandalftb
“Morale is down and there is fatigue among mujahidin ranks,..

Thank god. At least they are getting tired of blowing up women and children.

4 posted on 05/04/2005 9:24:43 PM PDT by justa-hairyape
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To: justa-hairyape

"Thank God. At least they are getting tired of killing women and children."

I don't think they have a problem killing women and children, it just isn't getting them the results they want. The Coalition and Iraqi forces are not running in fear and have become pretty successful in routing them out.

In other words we are winning.


5 posted on 05/05/2005 6:33:10 AM PDT by Americanexpat (A strong democracy through citizen oversight.)
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