<p>BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - An anti-American operative in Iraq appealed for help from al-Qaida leaders to help spark a sectarian war between Shiite and Sunni Muslims in an effort to ``tear the country apart,'' U.S. officials said Monday.</p>
<p>The officials confirmed a report Monday in The New York Times about the alleged plan, which was outlined in a 17-page letter that U.S. forces confiscated from an al-Qaida suspect in Iraq.</p>