A Letter From Ayman al-Zawahiri (in hiding) To Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (in Iraq).

This letter was obtained during what the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is calling anti-terror operations in Iraq. Among many topics discussed in this letter is one that I find particularly important. That is the fact, according to al-Zawahiri, we did things right in Afganistan,

"We don't want to repeat the mistake of the Taliban, who restricted participation in governance to the students and the people of Qandahar alone. They did not have any representation for the Afghan people in their ruling regime, so the result was that the Afghan people disengaged themselves from them. Even devout ones took the stance of the spectator and, when the invasion came, the amirate collapsed in days, because the people were either passive or hostile. Even the students themselves had a stronger affiliation to their tribes and their villages than their affiliation to the Islamic amirate or the Taliban movement or the responsible party in charge of each one of them in his place. Each of them retreated to his village and his tribe, where his affiliation was stronger!!".

But, al-Zawahiri also points out they are paying attention to history,

"My answer is, firstly: Things may develop faster than we imagine. The aftermath of the collapse of American power in Vietnam-and how they ran and left their agents-is noteworthy. Because of that, we must be ready starting now, before events overtake us, and before we are surprised by the conspiracies of the Americans and the United Nations and their plans to fill the void behind them. We must take the initiative and impose a fait accompli upon our enemies, instead of the enemy imposing one on us, wherein our lot would be to merely resist their schemes."

This letter should be taken seriously as a glimpse into the hearts and minds of the enemy. If we use this letter as a learning tool we can win this front in the larger battle on terrorism. al-Zawahiri states exactly what the "right" has been saying all along, if we announce a timeline for departure they will just wait and move into the void that is left.

The letter is here, and the DONI statement is here.