The outcome of the final step, the battle against Israel,
is already known. The invaders will be destroyed.

------------------------------------------------------------

Al Qaeda Tells Ally in Iraq to Strive for Global Goals

By DOUGLAS JEHL and THOM SHANKER
Published: October 7, 2005

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 - The second-ranking leader of Al Qaeda has 
warned the top militant in Iraq that attacks on civilians and 
videotaped executions committed by his followers threaten to 
jeopardize the broader extremist cause, a senior United States 
official said Thursday.

The warning, from Ayman al-Zawahiri to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was
spelled out in a 6,000-word letter, dated early in July, that was
obtained by American forces conducting counterterrorism operations 
in Iraq, the official said in a briefing.

Mr. Zawahiri said that Iraq had become "the place for the greatest
battle of Islam in this era," but that Mr. Zarqawi's forces should
keep in mind that it was only a stepping stone toward a broader
victory for militant Islam across the Middle East.

"The mujahedeen must not have their mission end with the expulsion of
the Americans from Iraq, and then lay down their weapons, and silence
the fighting zeal," Mr. Zawahiri said in the letter, according to a
partial translation provided by the official, who declined to provide
verbatim translations of anything more than three sentences from the
document. Under the ground rules for the briefing, the official cannot
be identified.

The official said Mr. Zawahiri also warned that Mr. Zarqawi's forces
should concentrate their attacks on Americans rather than on Iraqi
civilians, and should refrain from the kind of gruesome beheadings 
and other executions that have been posted on Qaeda Web sites. Those
executions have been condemned in parts of the Muslim world as
violating tenets of the faith.

The official said the letter was made public on Thursday after 
the government learned that CBS News and NBC News were preparing
broadcasts based on partial descriptions of its contents.

The official would not say when or how American forces had obtained
the communication, or whether it was in electronic or printed form.
But he said he had "the highest confidence of its authenticity," which
he said had been verified by "multiple sources over an extended period
of time."

The letter outlines what the official described as a comprehensive 
and chilling strategic vision for Qaeda.

It includes a four-stage battle plan, beginning with the American
military's expulsion, followed by the establishment of a militant
Islamic caliphate across Iraq before moving to Syria, Lebanon and
Egypt. The final step would be a battle against Israel.

[...]

Full article at "New York Times"
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/07/politics/07zarqawi.html


Cheers, Steve..

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