(10)The al-Masri Victory Speech
Al-Masri declares victory in Iraq, Iraqi Army strikes at al Qaeda leader in Rawah
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| Abu Ayyub al-Masri. |
Al-Qaeda in Iraq has weighed in on the U.S. midterm elections. Abu Ayyub al-Masri (a.k.a. Abu Hamza al-Muhajir), the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, has released an audiotape. In the tape, al-Masri praised the results of the midterm election, threatened continual attacks against the United States and Israel, declared allegiance to the Iraqi leader of the Mujahideen Shura, and devoted a large force to fight under his banner.
"The al-Qaida army has 12,000 fighters in Iraq, and they have vowed to die for God's sake... We haven't had enough of your blood yet... We will not rest from our Jihad until we are under the olive trees of Rumieh and we have blown up the filthiest house — which is called the White House... The American people have put their feet on the right path by ... realizing their president's betrayal in supporting Israel... So they voted for something reasonable in the last elections... I say to... the ruler of believers (Abu Omar Baghdadi, the leader of the Mujahideen Shura) I vow allegiance to you... I put under your command 12,000 fighters who are the army of the al Qaeda... The victory day has come faster than we expected... Here is the Islamic nation in Iraq victorious against the tyrant. The enemy is incapable of fighting on and has no choice but to run away. We have to be unified by the sword, even though disagreements exist between us [between al Qaeda and Sunni insurgent groups]... Go where God has ordered you to go and know that we are with you. We are your soldiers and your men."
The tape highlights the very real fact that al Qaeda works to influence elections in the West, and has a real preference in their outcome. This was true in Spain in the spring of 2004, when the Madrid rail suicide bombings killed over 200 commuters just days before the election, and led to the subsequent victory of the current Socialist government and immediate withdrawal of Spanish forces from Iraq. Over the summer, U.S. intelligence uncovered a 66 page document that explained al Qaeda strategy to manipulate Western elections. The document, which was published on the web in a private al Qaeda forum, has yet to be declassified.
To influence the American elections, the U.S. mainland didn't need to be hit. The schwerpunkt of American public opinion was in Iraq. The terror attacks and sectarian killings were ratcheted up to achieve the desired effect: weaken the resolve of the American public, create a sense of hopelessness and despair in the mission. Now, the question is: will the Bush administration and the Democratic Congress hand al Qaeda a real military victory to accompany the propaganda victory by prematurely withdrawing from Iraq before the security has stabilized?
As al-Masri's speech hit the news wires, al Qaeda in Iraq's leader in Rawah and a senior lieutenant were killed in a raid, and another was captured. Abu Muhayyam al-Masri (the Egyptian), the leader in Rawah, a farming town in the western Euphrates River Valley, was killed along with Abu Isam al-Libi (the Libyan). Abu Zaid al-Suri (the Syrian) was arrested with nine other members of al Qaeda in Iraq. The assaults were planned and carried out by the 7th Iraqi Army Division. An American intelligence source informs us that a captured al Qaeda leader identified only as the "prince of princes" continues to provide tremendous intelligence on al Qaeda' network.
The identity of the Rawah al Qaeda leadership explains al-Masri's desire to put an Iraqi face on al Qaeda's operations. The Mujahideen Shura was created to explicitly "Iraqify" the jihad, however the senior leadership continues to be made up of foreign al Qaeda. Al-Masri himself is an Egyptian.Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Masri's predicessor, was Jordanian. Al-Masri contunies to be the primary target for Task Force 145.
