A document purportedly captured in an al-Qaida hideout portrays the
insurgency in Iraq as being in "bleak" shape, saying that it is losing strength
and proposing ways to stir up trouble between the US and Iran to divert American
attention.
American and Iraqi forces have killed 104 insurgents in 452 raids nationwide
since al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed last week, the US
military said.
Iraqi soldiers carry
exhausted recently-released prisoner Abdul-Kader from Ramadi at the main
bus station in Baghdad, Iraq Thursday, June 15, 2006. More than 450
prisoners were being released Thursday as part of Iraqi Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki's national reconciliation efforts, according to the US
military. [AP] |
Arrests, weapons seizures and
money shortages are taking a heavy toll on al-Qaida's insurgency in Iraq,
according to the three-page transcript released Thursday by the Iraqi
government, which said it reflects al-Qaida policy and the terror organization's
cooperation with groups loyal to Saddam Hussein.
There was no way to confirm the authenticity of the information attributed to
al-Qaida, and U.S. and Iraqi officials offered conflicting accounts of when and
where it was seized.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's office said Iraqi forces found the
document in al-Zarqawi's hideout after the June 7 US airstrike that killed him.
However, US Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said the document had been taken from
a computer in a raid during the three-week operation to track down al-Zarqawi.
Caldwell said sweeps across Iraq since al-Zarqawi's death led to 28
significant arms caches. He said the raids included 255 joint operations and 143
by Iraqi forces alone.
The al-Qaida document said its insurgency was being hurt by an increase in
US-trained Iraqi forces, by widespread arrests and seizures of weapons, and by a
crackdown on financial outlets.
According to a translation provided by National Security Adviser Mouwafak
al-Rubaie, the document said the best way to overcome the "current bleak
situation" would be to involve US forces in a "war against another country" or
hostile group.
The way to do this, the document said, "is to try and inflame the situation
between America and Iran" or between the US and followers of Grand Ayatollah Ali
al-Sistani, Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric.
It suggests carrying out a range of terrorist acts for which it will falsely
implicate Iran, including bombings in the West and kidnappings. It also
recommends declaring the existence of a relationship between Iran and terrorist
groups, and disseminating bogus confessions showing that Iran has weapons of
mass destruction.
Vice President Dick Cheney said the document, if authenticated, shows the
terrorists know they are losing the war.
The words "are fascinating because they do reveal - obviously whoever
wrote them, assuming they are authentic - somebody who believes they are on
the losing end of the engagement," Cheney said on the Sean Hannity radio show.
