These
articles and commentaries are provided courtesy
of DefenseWatch, the official magazine
for Soldiers For The Truth (SFTT), a grass-roots
educational organization started by a small
group of concerned veterans and citizens to
inform the public, the Congress, and the media
on the decline in readiness of our armed forces.
Inspired by the outspoken idealism of retired
Colonel
David Hackworth, SFTT aims to give our
service people, veterans, and retirees a clear
voice with the media, Congress, the public
and their services.
[Have an opinion about the views expressed in this article? Sound
off in the Hot Issues with Defensewatch Forum.] Editor's Note: The Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq
has released the text of a letter by Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi, a known
Jordanian terrorist with al Qaeda affiliations, that was recently
uncovered during its transit to Al Qaeda officials. In the document,
Zarqawi acknowledges that "time is running out" for the insurgents
and terrorists as the transition to Iraqi sovereignty draws nearer.
Text from Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi Letter
1. The foreign Mujahidin: Their numbers continue to be small, compared
to the large nature of the expected battle. We know that there are
enough good groups and jihad is continuing, despite the negative rumors.
What is preventing us from making a general call to arms is the fact
that the country of Iraq has no mountains in which to seek refuge,
or forest in which to hide. Our presence is apparent and our movement
is out in the open. Eyes are everywhere. The enemy is before us and
the sea is behind us. Many Iraqis would honor you as a guest and give
you refuge, for you are a Muslim brother; however, they will not allow
you to make their homes a base for operations or a safe house. People
who will allow you to do such things are very rare, rarer than red
sulfur. Therefore, it has been extremely difficult to lodge and keep
safe a number of brothers, and also train new recruits. Praised be
to Allah, however, with relentless effort and searching we have acquired
some places and their numbers are increasing, to become base points
for the brothers who will spark war and bring the people of this country
into a real battle with God's will.
2. The present and future: There is no doubt that American losses
were significant because they are spread thin amongst the people and
because it is easy to get weapons. This is a fact that makes them
easy targets, attractive for the believers. America, however, has
no intention of leaving, no matter how many wounded nor how bloody
it becomes. It is looking to a near future, when it will remain safe
in its bases, while handing over control of Iraq to a bastard government
with an army and police force that will bring back the time of (Saddam)
Husayn and his cohorts. There is no doubt that our field of movement
is shrinking and the grip around the throat of the Mujahidin has begun
to tighten. With the spread of the army and police, our future is
becoming frightening.
3. So where are we? Despite few supporters, lack of friends, and
tough times, God has blessed us with victories against the enemy.
We were involved in all the martyrdom operations - in terms of overseeing,
preparing, and planning - that took place in this country except for
the operations that took place in the north. Praised be to Allah,
I have completed 25 of these operations, some of them against the
Shi'a and their leaders, the Americans and their military, the police,
the military, and the coalition forces. There will be more in the
future, God willing. We did not want to publicly claim these operations
until we become more powerful and were ready for the consequences.
We need to show up strong and avoid getting hurt, now that we have
made great strides and taken important steps forward. As we get closer
to the decisive moment, we feel that our entity is spreading within
the security void existing in Iraq, something that will allow us to
secure bases on the ground, these bases that will be the jump start
of a serious revival, God willing.
4. Plan of action: after much inquiry and discussion, we have narrowed
our enemy to four groups:
A. Americans as you know, these are the biggest cowards that God has
created and the easiest target. And we ask God to allow us to kill,
and detain them, so that we can exchange them with our arrested shaykhs
and brothers.
B. Kurds, these are a pain and a thorn, and it is not time yet to
deal with them. They are last on our list, even though we are trying
to get to some of their leaders. God willing.
C. The Iraqi troops, police, and agents these are the eyes, ears,
and hand of the occupier. With God's permission, we are determined
to target them with force in the near future, before their power strengthens.
D. The Shi'a in our opinion, these are the key to change. Targeting
and striking their religious, political, and military symbols, will
make them show their rage against the Sunnis and bear their inner
vengeance. If we succeed in dragging them into a sectarian war, this
will awaken the sleepy Sunnis who are fearful of destruction and death
at the hands of these Sabeans, i.e., the Shi'a. Despite their weakness,
the Sunnis are strong-willed and honest and different from the coward
and deceitful Shi'a, who only attack the weak. Most of the Sunnis
are aware of the danger of these people and they fear them. If it
were not for those disappointing shaykhs, Sufis, and Muslim brothers,
Sunnis would have a different attitude.
5. Way of action: As we have mentioned to you, our situation demands
that we treat the issue with courage and clarity. So the solution,
and God only knows, is that we need to bring the Shi'a into the battle
because it is the only way to prolong the duration of the fight between
the infidels and us. We need to do that because:
A. The Shi'a have declared a subtle war against Islam. They are the
close, dangerous enemy of the Sunnis. Even if the Americans are also
an archenemy, the Shi'a are a greater danger and their harm more destructive
to the nation than that of the Americans who are anyway the original
enemy by consensus.
B. They have supported the Americans, helped them, and stand with
them against the Mujahidin. They work and continue to work towards
the destruction of the Mujahidin.
C. Fighting the Shi'a is the way to take the nation to battle. The
Shi'a have taken on the dress of the army, police and the Iraqi security
forces, and have raised the banner of protecting the nation, and the
citizens. Under this banner, they have begun to assassinate the Sunnis
under the pretense that they are saboteurs, vestiges of the Ba'ath,
or terrorists who spread perversion in the country. This is being
done with strong media support directed by the governing council and
the Americans, and they have succeeded in splitting the regular Sunni
from the Mujahidin.
For example, in what they call the Sunni triangle, the army and police
are spreading out in these regions, putting in charge Sunnis from
the same region. Therefore, the problem is you end up having an army
and police connected by lineage, blood and appearance to the people
of the region. This region is our base of operations from where we
depart and to where we return. When the Americans withdraw, and they
have already started doing that, they get replaced by these agents
who are intimately linked to the people of this region. What will
happen to us, if we fight them, and we have to fight them, is one
of only two choices:
1) If we fight them, that will be difficult because there will be
a schism between us and the people of the region. How can we kill
their cousins and sons and under what pretext, after the Americans
start withdrawing? The Americans will continue to control from their
bases, but the sons of this land will be the authority. This is the
democracy, we will have no pretext.
2) We can pack up and leave and look for another land, just like it
has happened in so many lands of jihad. Our enemy is growing stronger
day after day, and its intelligence information increases. By God,
this is suffocation! We will be on the roads again. People follow
their leaders, their hearts may be with you, but their swords are
with their kings. So I say again, the only solution is to strike the
religious, military, and other cadres of the Shi'a so that they revolt
against the Sunnis. Some people will say, that this will be a reckless
and irresponsible action that will bring the Islamic nation to a battle
for which the Islamic nation is unprepared. Souls will perish and
blood will be spilled.
This is, however, exactly what we want, as there is nothing to win
or lose in our situation. The Shi'a destroyed the balance, and the
religion of God is worth more than lives. Until the majority stands
up for the truth, we have to make sacrifices for this religion, and
blood has to be spilled. For those who are good, we will speed up
their trip to paradise, and the others, we will get rid of them.
By God, the religion of God is more precious than anything else. We
have many rounds, attacks, and black nights with the Shi'a, and we
cannot delay this. Their menace is looming and this is a fact that
we should not fear, because they are the most cowardly people God
has created. Killing their leaders will weaken them and with the death
of the head, the whole group dies. They are not like the Sunnis. If
you knew the fear in the souls of the Sunnis and their people, you
would weep in sadness. How many of the mosques have they have turned
in to Shi'a mosques ("husayniyas")? How many houses they have destroyed
with their owners inside? How many brothers have they killed? How
many sisters have been raped at the hands of those vile infidels?
If we are able to deal them blow after painful blow so that they engage
in a battle, we will be able to reshuffle the cards so there will
remain no value or influence for the ruling council, or even for the
Americans who will enter into a second battle with the Shi'a. This
is what we want. Then, the Sunnis will have no choice but to support
us in many of the Sunni regions. When the Mujahidin would have secured
a land they can use as a base to hit the Shi'a inside their own lands,
with a directed media and a strategic action, there will be a continuation
between the Mujahidin inside and outside of Iraq.
We are racing against time, in order to create squads of Mujahidin
who seek refuge in secure places, spy on neighborhoods, and work on
hunting down the enemies. The enemies are the Americans, police and
army. We have been training these people and augmenting their numbers.
As far as the Shi'a, we will undertake suicide operations and use
car bombs to harm them. We have been working on monitoring the area
and choosing the right people, looking for those who are on the straight
path, so we can cooperate with them. We hope that we have made progress,
and perhaps we will soon decide to go public - even if gradually -
to display ourselves in full view.
We have been hiding for a long time, and now we are seriously working
on preparing a media outlet to reveal the truth, enflame zeal, and
become an outlet for jihad in which the sword and the pen can turn
into one. Along with this, we strive to illuminate the hindering errors
of Islamic law and the clarifications of Islamic legal precepts by
way of tapes, lessons and courses which people will come to understand.
The suggested time for execution: We are hoping that we will soon
start working on creating squads and brigades of individuals who have
experience and expertise. We have to get to the zero-hour in order
to openly begin controlling the land by night and after that by day,
God willing. The zero-hour needs to be at least four months before
the new government gets in place. As we see we are racing time, and
if we succeed, which we are hoping, we will turn the tables on them
and thwart their plan. If, God forbid, the government is successful
and takes control of the country, we just have to pack up and go somewhere
else again, where we can raise the flag again or die, if God chooses
us.
6. What about you? You, noble brothers, leaders of jihad, we do not
consider ourselves those who would compete against you, nor would
we ever aim to achieve glory for ourselves like you did. The only
thing we want is to be the head of the spear, assisting and providing
a bridge over which the Muslim nation can cross to promised victory
and a better tomorrow. As we have explained, this is our belief.
These
articles and commentaries are provided courtesy
of DefenseWatch, the official magazine
for Soldiers For The Truth (SFTT), a grass-roots
educational organization started by a small
group of concerned veterans and citizens to
inform the public, the Congress, and the media
on the decline in readiness of our armed forces.
Inspired by the outspoken idealism of retired
