U.S. spotlights Al Qaeda in Iraq weakness
The US military released four pages of a 39-page, typewritten Arabic document believed to be from a top Al Qaeda in Iraq leader.
By Sam Dagher | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the February 11, 2008 edition
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BAGHDAD - Of the 39-page, typewritten Arabic report by an Al Qaeda chief, the US military released only four pages Sunday. It's enough, they say, to show that Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) is struggling to overcome major setbacks in Anbar Province, the Sunni stronghold where tribesmen rebelled against the organization, says a military spokesman.
Rear Adm. Greg Smith says the document was found among the possessions of Abu Maysara, a former adviser to AQI's presumed leader, Abu Ayub al-Masri, after he was killed by coalition forces in a Nov. 18, 2007, raid on his safe house near Samarra.
"We have lost cities and afterwards villages.... We got away from people and found ourselves in a wasteland desert," read Admiral Smith, quoting from the document.
The release of this and other documents in recent days is part of a stepped-up US military media campaign against AQI to highlight the organization's state of disarray and desperation, says Smith.
It's a battle for hearts and minds against the militants. While AQI has shown diminished capacity in recent months, it has proven it can strike throughout Iraq.
"We do understand the impact of having an aggressive communications effort as part of the battle here in Iraq.... I will not apologize for being aggressive," says Smith. "We have lots of material ....It takes a long of time to sort through it."
He says countrywide military operations against Al Qaeda have yielded a treasure trove of documents, computers, compact disks, thumb drives, and other intelligence-worthy material that has been piling up at a central undisclosed location in Iraq where it's being analyzed and declassified as deemed appropriate.
On Sunday, Smith revealed to reporters in Baghdad excerpts of the document from Abu Maysara, saying the "analytical" document was written in the summer of 2007 by a mid- to high-level leader and intended for the circle of leadership as a critical assessment of the organization.
He said the document was undated and unsigned, leaving doubt as to whether it was authored by Abu Maysara, who according to Mustafa al-Ani of the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center, is an Iraqi known previously to be AQI's spokesman.
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