Al-Qaeda leaders admit: 'We are in crisis. There is panic and fear'

The London Times ^ | February 11, 2008 | Martin Fletcher in Baghdad

[GVnana]

Al-Qaeda leaders admit: 'We are in crisis. There is panic and fear'

Al-Qaeda in Iraq faces an “extraordinary crisis”. Last year's mass defection of ordinary Sunnis from al-Qaeda to the US military “created panic, fear and the unwillingness to fight”. The terrorist group's security structure suffered “total collapse”.

These are the words not of al-Qaeda's enemies but of one of its own leaders in Anbar province — once the group's stronghold. They were set down last summer in a 39-page letter seized during a US raid on an al-Qaeda base near Samarra in November.

The US military released extracts from that letter yesterday along with a second seized in another November raid that is almost as startling.

That second document is a bitter 16-page testament written last October by a local al-Qaeda leader near Balad, north of Baghdad. “I am Abu-Tariq, emir of the al-Layin and al-Mashahdah sector,” the author begins. He goes on to describe how his force of 600 shrank to fewer than 20.

“We were mistreated, cheated and betrayed by some of our brothers,” he says. “Those people were nothing but hypocrites, liars and traitors and were waiting for the right moment to switch sides with whoever pays them most.”

[GVnana]

Extracts from letters

Abu-Tariq, al-Qaeda leader

“There were almost 600 fighters in our sector before the tribes changed course 360 degrees . . . Many of our fighters quit and some of them joined the deserters . . . As a result of that the number of fighters dropped down to 20 or less.”

“We were mistreated, cheated and betrayed by some of our brothers who used to be part of the Jihadi movement, therefore we must not have mercy on those traitors until they come back to the right side or get eliminated completely.”

Unnamed emir, Anbar province

“The Islamic State of Iraq [al-Qaeda] is faced with an extraordinary crisis, especially in al-Anbar province. Al-Qaeda’s expulsion from Anbar created weakness and psychological defeat. This also created panic, fear and the unwillingness to fight.

“The morale of the fighters went down and they wanted to be transferred to administrative positions rather than be fighters. There was a total collapse in the security structure of the organisation.”

[Clintonfatigued]

This undercuts the Democrats’ line on foreign policy.

[ChocChipCookie]

I think this is pretty much what the Democrats are saying, too.

[GregoTX]

Abu-Tarig;"The morale of the fighters went down and they wanted to be transferred to administrative positions rather than be fighters."

Im sure the morale will turn around real quick if Hillary or Barack Hussein Obama becomes the new USA Commander in Chief.

[GVnana]

“Pelosi calls Iraq a failure. Says the surge was a bust.”
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8422.html

[clamper1797]

Nancy Smelosi and Dingy Harry deeply saddened

[PetroniusMaximus]

Terrorists tasting terror.

[RichInOC]

HOW ARE YOU OSAMA!!
ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US.

[Enterprise]

Well, y’all are just going to have to provide a better 401(k) and disability plan.

[Tennessean4Bush]

ping

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

Arab culture breeds fatalism, degredation, and failure. One need only look around the World to confirm this fact. The fact that they are having their asses handed to them in Iraq should come as no surprise.

[MuttTheHoople]

Extracts from letters Abu-Tariq (D-Anbar), al-Qaeda Democrat Party lisason leader “There were almost 600 Democrat Party Workers in our sector before the tribes changed course 360 degrees . . . Many of our fighters quit and some of them joined the deserters . . . As a result of that the number of campaign workers dropped down to 20 or less.” “We were mistreated, cheated and betrayed by some of our brothers who used to be part of the Pelosi/Reid movement, therefore we must not have mercy on those traitors until they come back to the right side or get a filibuster-proof Senate for the Democrats.” Unnamed emir, Anbar province THERE. CORRECTED IT.

[GVnana]

LOL! Love it!

[Chgogal]

Cannoneer No. 4 printed some of what was in Al-Tariq’s diary. Here is the link:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1967743/posts

Kudos to Cannoneer No. 4. His blog is found here:

http://cannoneerno4.wordpress.com/2008/02/09/daily-diary-of-an-al-qaeda-sector-leader/

It is an excellent read.

[uglybiker]

But...but...we only wanted to stop the United States from destroying the biosphere with global warming!
*sob! Is that too much to ask?*sniff!*

[Eyes Unclouded]

LOL! Maybe double down on the virgin bit while they are at it also?

[GVnana]

#14. Highly recommended.

[rdl6989]

Know fear.

[Gondring]

“We were mistreated, cheated and betrayed by some of our brothers,” he says. “Those people were nothing but hypocrites, liars and traitors and were waiting for the right moment to switch sides with whoever pays them most.”

And thank goodness America is willing to borrow $10,000 per family from China to get them on our side...for a while!

[Wiseghy]

This is an extraordinary outcome, given the dire predictions of only a year ago. Even more extraordinary is the fact that we are reading this in the London Times.

This is not just a winding down, it is a rout and a total, crushing defeat for AQ. No one, absolutely no one thought that it would come to this, except those soldiers in Iraq who saw how evil and hated the enemy actually was.

That infamous Carrier celebration with Bush will not look so horrid, in its historical context.