Posted on 10/02/2006 5:24:11 AM PDT by fanfan
A letter found when al-Qaeda's chief in Iraq was killed said the group's leadership was based in Waziristan, Pakistan, the Washington Post reports.
The December 2005 missive is said to be the first to emerge from what the US military calls a "treasure trove" after Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death in June.
It was reportedly sent by a member of Osama Bin Laden's high command, who said he wrote from Waziristan.
Bin Laden is suspected of hiding along the Afghan-Pakistani border.
If accurate, the letter would confirm the location of the al-Qaeda leadership at the time it was written, the newspaper said.
'Wish to advise'
The missive was uncovered from Iraqi safe houses at the time of Zarqawi's death in a US air strike, according to the Washington Post.
A 15-page English translation of the Arabic document was released last week by a US military counter-terrorism centre, the paper reported.
I am with them and they have some comments about some of your circumstances "Atiyah"
The author said he was writing from al-Qaeda headquarters in the restive border region, where Taleban and al-Qaeda fugitives have been active.
The paper said the letter was signed by "Atiyah," whom counter-terrorism officials believe is Atiyah Abd al Rahman, a 37-year-old Libyan who joined Bin Laden during the 1980s.
"I am with them," the letter says.
"And they have some comments about some of your circumstances."
The letter described the difficulty of direct communications between Waziristan and Iraq, and suggested it was easier for Zarqawi to send a representative to Pakistan than the other way around, the Washington Post reported.
It also warned Zarqawi that he risked removal as the leader in Iraq if he continued to alienate Sunni leaders and rival insurgent groups, the paper said.
The "brothers wish that they had a way to talk to you and advise you, and to guide and instruct you; however, they too are occupied with vicious enemies here," Atiyah reportedly wrote.
"They are also weak. And we ask God that He strengthen them and mend their fractures."
Counter-terrorism officials reportedly deemed the document authentic.
'Laughing hijackers'
The report comes a day after the release of a video purportedly showing the ringleader of the 9/11 attacks.
British newspaper the Sunday Times posted the video, which has no sound, on its website.
Dated January 2000, it shows ringleader Mohammed Atta and fellow hijacker Ziad Jarrah talking and laughing, and speaking to the camera.
The Sunday Times said the video was made in Afghanistan for release after their deaths.
Insults are the last resort of the intellectually challenged. No matter how many mistake I make, India will never go into Waziristan. I think you must one of those extreme Indian chauvanists to think it is even a reasonable suggestion. but, of course, you choose to pick at my faults instead of defending your ridiculous suggestion. I apologize for my shortcomings.. but you are stuck with yours.
Target?
For a moment,let's drool over what might have been-
Just prior to the end of British rule in the subcontinent-the most popular leaders in the NWFP incl. Waziristan were Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan aka the frontier Gandhi & Khan Sahib,who headed the provincial government there.Both those leaders were in favour of asceding to the Indian Union or Independence & not integrating with Pakistan.The the Muslim League(with encouragement from Britain),fomented violence & played up tribal tensions prior to a referendum there.The Frontier Gandhi & Khan Sahib decided to boycott those elections-despite opposition from figures like Sardar Patel & even Nehru.The Muslim League won those elections by a whisker-Things could have been SO DIFFERENT if they contested.
My limited understanding is that most of the Pakis, along with Paki Intelligence, support Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Musharraf and the Army are our ally, as long as its not too difficult and the goodies keep coming.
The Pakistani army & it's intelligence agency,the ISI,created the Taliban-well that's a fact everyone knows.As I have said many times,the ISI is not independent of the army.A vast chunk of officers & resources come from the army.It suits the Generals to allow the impression that the ISI is shady to flourish.There is clearly popular support for Islamic extremism in Pakistan,but when have such political parties ever come to power there???The MMA did well in 2002, because of the support of Musharraf who wanted to undercut votes to the opposition alliance.The army sustains these groups so that it's position is not compromised esp in trouble spots like the NWFP,Sindh or POK.The point here being these Islamic groups are not as omnipotent as many people think,because Pakistan is a seriously divided countries on ethnic & religious(Shia-Sunni) terms-the army is the only institution in Pakistan which draws members from all regions(though it too is dominated by Punjabis).
The Army keeps playing the game you talk about -playing both sides in order to keep it's position intact.
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