Post by Salem6 on Feb 12, 2004 18:04:21 GMT
"The Iraqi brothers are still keen on safety," reads the letter. "We told them many times - safety and victory do not go together."
The letter's author, according to the US, is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - a man famed for his eloquence and ruthlessness.
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi: his real name is Fadel al-Khalayleh
The 38-year old Jordanian radical fled to Iraq in 2001 after losing a leg in a US missile strike on his Afghan base.
He now stands accused of masterminding a string of spectacular suicide bombings in Iraq.
Little else is known about him - least of all his present whereabouts.
Analysts say the fugitive has no shortage of friends - he is of Bedouin stock, and his tribe, the Beni Hassan, straddles many borders in the modern Middle East.
The US is offering $10 million to anyone who can provide information that leads to the capture or death of this fugitive - the "wild card" in its pack of wanted men.
The original bounty on Mr Zarqawi's head - $5 million - was doubled after American authorities intercepted a letter which, they claim, confirms he is working with al-Qaeda to drive the US out of Iraq.
But it is not the first time Mr Zarqawi has been linked to al-Qaeda.
Rival or ally?
In the run-up to the Iraq war in February 2003, US Secretary of State Colin Powell told the United Nations Mr Zarqawi was an associate of Osama bin Laden's who had sought refuge in Iraq.
Intelligence reports indicated he was in Baghdad and - according to Mr Powell - this was a sure sign that Saddam Hussein was courting al-Qaeda, which, in turn, justified an attack on Iraq.
But some analysts contested the claim, pointing to Mr al-Zarqawi's historical rivalry with bin Laden.
Both men rose to prominence as "Afghan Arabs" - leading foreign fighters in the "jihad" against Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
After the Soviets were defeated, Mr Zarqawi went back to Jordan.
He spent seven years in prison there, accused of conspiring to overthrow the monarchy and establish an Islamic caliphate.
Not long after his release, he fled the country.
Jordan tried him in absentia and sentenced him to death for allegedly plotting attacks on American and Israeli tourists.
Western intelligence indicates Mr Zarqawi had sought refuge in Europe.
German security forces later uncovered a militant cell which claimed Mr Zarqawi was its leader.
The cell-members also told their German interrogators their group was "especially for Jordanians who did not want to join al-Qaeda".
According to the German intelligence report, this "conflicts with... information" from America.
Kurdish connection
The next stop on Mr al-Zarqawi's itinerary was his old stamping ground - Afghanistan.
A 'wanted' poster for Zarqawi: there is $10 million bounty on his head
He is believed to have set up a training camp in the western city of Herat, near the border with Iran.
Students at his camp supposedly became experts in the manufacture and use of poison gases.
It is during this period that Mr Zarqawi is thought to have renewed his acquaintance with al-Qaeda.
US officials argue that it was at al-Qaeda's behest that he later fled to Iraq and established links with Ansar al-Islam - a group of Kurdish Islamists from the north of the country.
He is thought to have remained with them for a while - feeling at home in mountainous northern Iraq.
When US aid official Laurence Foley was gunned down in Amman in October 2002, the Jordanian authorities claimed he had masterminded and financed the attack.
If the intelligence agencies are to be believed, it was just the beginning of a busy year for Mr Zarqawi.
Sectarian strategy
In 2003, he was named as the brains behind a series of lethal bombings - from Casablanca in Morocco to Istanbul in Turkey.
It is in Iraq, though, that he appears to be most active.
The assassination of the Shia cleric, Ayatollah al-Hakim, at a shrine in the town of Najaf, was one of the bloodiest attacks in Iraq last year - over 50 Shia worshippers died.
US authorities pinned the blame on Mr Zarqawi.
The intercepted "Zarqawi" letter released by the Americans in February 2004 seems to support their claim.
In it, the author appears to share his plans for igniting sectarian conflict in Iraq as a means of undermining the US presence there.
He claims to have already undertaken 25 successful attacks against the enemy.
That tally looks set to increase - within days of the letter's release, bomb attacks on recruiting centres for the Iraqi security forces had killed nearly 100 people.
The letter's author, according to the US, is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - a man famed for his eloquence and ruthlessness.
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi: his real name is Fadel al-Khalayleh
The 38-year old Jordanian radical fled to Iraq in 2001 after losing a leg in a US missile strike on his Afghan base.
He now stands accused of masterminding a string of spectacular suicide bombings in Iraq.
Little else is known about him - least of all his present whereabouts.
Analysts say the fugitive has no shortage of friends - he is of Bedouin stock, and his tribe, the Beni Hassan, straddles many borders in the modern Middle East.
The US is offering $10 million to anyone who can provide information that leads to the capture or death of this fugitive - the "wild card" in its pack of wanted men.
The original bounty on Mr Zarqawi's head - $5 million - was doubled after American authorities intercepted a letter which, they claim, confirms he is working with al-Qaeda to drive the US out of Iraq.
But it is not the first time Mr Zarqawi has been linked to al-Qaeda.
Rival or ally?
In the run-up to the Iraq war in February 2003, US Secretary of State Colin Powell told the United Nations Mr Zarqawi was an associate of Osama bin Laden's who had sought refuge in Iraq.
Intelligence reports indicated he was in Baghdad and - according to Mr Powell - this was a sure sign that Saddam Hussein was courting al-Qaeda, which, in turn, justified an attack on Iraq.
But some analysts contested the claim, pointing to Mr al-Zarqawi's historical rivalry with bin Laden.
Both men rose to prominence as "Afghan Arabs" - leading foreign fighters in the "jihad" against Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
After the Soviets were defeated, Mr Zarqawi went back to Jordan.
He spent seven years in prison there, accused of conspiring to overthrow the monarchy and establish an Islamic caliphate.
Not long after his release, he fled the country.
Jordan tried him in absentia and sentenced him to death for allegedly plotting attacks on American and Israeli tourists.
Western intelligence indicates Mr Zarqawi had sought refuge in Europe.
German security forces later uncovered a militant cell which claimed Mr Zarqawi was its leader.
The cell-members also told their German interrogators their group was "especially for Jordanians who did not want to join al-Qaeda".
According to the German intelligence report, this "conflicts with... information" from America.
Kurdish connection
The next stop on Mr al-Zarqawi's itinerary was his old stamping ground - Afghanistan.
A 'wanted' poster for Zarqawi: there is $10 million bounty on his head
He is believed to have set up a training camp in the western city of Herat, near the border with Iran.
Students at his camp supposedly became experts in the manufacture and use of poison gases.
It is during this period that Mr Zarqawi is thought to have renewed his acquaintance with al-Qaeda.
US officials argue that it was at al-Qaeda's behest that he later fled to Iraq and established links with Ansar al-Islam - a group of Kurdish Islamists from the north of the country.
He is thought to have remained with them for a while - feeling at home in mountainous northern Iraq.
When US aid official Laurence Foley was gunned down in Amman in October 2002, the Jordanian authorities claimed he had masterminded and financed the attack.
If the intelligence agencies are to be believed, it was just the beginning of a busy year for Mr Zarqawi.
Sectarian strategy
In 2003, he was named as the brains behind a series of lethal bombings - from Casablanca in Morocco to Istanbul in Turkey.
It is in Iraq, though, that he appears to be most active.
The assassination of the Shia cleric, Ayatollah al-Hakim, at a shrine in the town of Najaf, was one of the bloodiest attacks in Iraq last year - over 50 Shia worshippers died.
US authorities pinned the blame on Mr Zarqawi.
The intercepted "Zarqawi" letter released by the Americans in February 2004 seems to support their claim.
In it, the author appears to share his plans for igniting sectarian conflict in Iraq as a means of undermining the US presence there.
He claims to have already undertaken 25 successful attacks against the enemy.
That tally looks set to increase - within days of the letter's release, bomb attacks on recruiting centres for the Iraqi security forces had killed nearly 100 people.