al Qaeda’s Mess in Mesopotamia

A recently intercepted letter believed to be addressed to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi provides valuable insight into the mindset of the middle ranks of al Qaeda in Iraq and their perception of the organization’s leadership, effectiveness and the morale of the jihadis. Evan Kohlmann of Global Terror Alert and the Counterterrorism Blog provides a complete translation of the text, some of which is excerpted below. He notes that the letter was written by “Abu Asim al-Yemeni al-Qusaymi, a purported representative of Al-Qaida’s Committee in Iraq.”

The fact that al-Qusaymi is a representative of the Committee is important as he will have access to commanders in the field and the rank and file, as well as the leadership of al Qaeda in Iraq and Zarqawi himself. It should also be noted that al-Qusaymi’s courier was intercepted within hours of being dispatched, suggesting that either the Coalition was lucky in grabbing him, or that they were aware of his presence via an intelligence source close to or within al Qaeda’s command structure.

The letter begins with the standard greeting with praise of Allah, then al-Qusaymi curiously implores both himself and Zarqawi to not give up the fight:

“Almighty Allah has said, ‘those who are believers beware of Allah and do not die unless you are Muslim.’ And, the Prophet had stated, ‘the religion is an advice’, we asked him, to how may it be? He replied, ‘for the sake of Allah, the Prophet, the Holy Book, the Muslim Imams and the public.’ He said, ‘if you leave Jihad then Allah will take away the mercy from you.’ I advise myself firstly then I advise you [Shaykh] to beware of Allah in secret and in the open. Do not be afraid of anybody. I advise you not to be stopped by anything from practicing jihad for the sake of Allah and that is by depending absolutely on Allah. Whoever satisfies Allah rather than people, Allah will satisfy in turn.

al-Qusaymi then makes an unsupported claim that the Muslim world is waiting for the return of the Caliphate, one of the main objectives of al Qaeda. This is not supported based on the massive turnout during the election in Iraq, or in the desire for democracy in Lebanon and elsewhere in the region. Al Qaeda in Iraq continues to await the massive influx of fighters into the country, but instead they receive only a trickle:

The entire Islamic nation is waiting to have an Islamic state implementing the rules of Allah, and are waiting for those men who are going to protect their dignity that are being abused everyday.”

The next paragraph is highly insightful on the perceptions of the morale of al Qaeda’s foot soldiers and the schisms that exists between local commanders. The fighters believe they are being sacrificed unnecessarily, and have been ordered to do so by Zarqawi himself, and are also complaining of their treatment by their own leaders:

What has happened between myself and my brothers is a crime that cannot be forgiven, but Allah will eventually punish the oppressors. I could swear by Allah that you are asking about us and our situation in here; the morale has weakened and lines of the mujahideen have become separated due to the actions of some commanders. Allah does not accept such actions, and they will delay our victory. We do have big mistakes where some of us have been discarded. To summarize what has happened with us, he said either you carry out a martyr operation or go back to your family. After, we were told this was an order from the Shaykh [Zarqawi]. Indeed, some of the brothers had returned back, some were recorded as martyred and the rest were hanging around and did not know what to do, besides they were humiliated and immorally treated.

al-Qusaymi then longs for the good old days of Fallujah, where Zarqawi was free to openly visit the troops and care for their needs. It is unclear if the “brothers that were tortured and jailed” he is referring to are jailed by local police, tribes or al Qaeda commanders, but either way, Zarqawi no longer has the freedom of movement to obtain their freedom. This is a sore spot with al-Qusaymi and likely with the rest of the rank and file, and demonstrates that Fallujah was an important sanctuary for al Qaeda:

Who is to blame, should it be the oppressor or the oppressed? We have brothers that were tortured and jailed. They are harmless and nobody is meeting with them or asks about them. It is unlike the case in Fallujah where you used to come and visit us, and we enjoyed your company. The situation has changed dramatically and that is not acceptable to Allah. The most important thing, Shaykh, is that your existence is a thorn in the mouth of the Americans as well as the traitors, and may Allah protect you.

al-Qusaymi is very concerned about the quality of the local al Qaeda commanders, and is very distrustful of Zarqawi’s inner circle. He does not believe Zarqawi is being properly informed of the situation on the ground by his lieutenants.

“The most important issue here is, do not hear from just one side, even if that person was close to you. But hear from all sides so the facts will become clear to you. We have commanders that are not capable of being good leaders. We are not accusing them without reason but we have tested them and found them incapable. Praise be to Allah, Shaykh, please test those who are underneath you. Some of them are hasty, some are unfair, and some have other issues. My last request to you, Shaykh, is that I need to meet with you to share a lot of unknown issues. And, to be honest with you, I really do not trust anyone anymore that says he is coming from your side. We have suffered a lot, but all praise be to Allah. I ask almighty Allah to make our religion victorious and to bless the mujahideen all across the world and to disgrace the infidels, destroy America and its allies soon without any delay. Peace be upon Mohammed, his family and friends until judgment day. I attest that there is one God and I ask for his mercy.

Assuming this letter is authentic, the picture al-Qusaymi draws of the current state of al Qaeda in Iraq is not positive [for al Qaeda, that is]. Their soldier’s morale is very low and for good reason. They are being mistreated by their own leaders, they feel they are being sacrificed without any positive effects on the outcome, they do not feel they have direction, and some are deserting. No doubt incidents like the failed and costly assaults on Abu Ghraib and Camp Gannon contribute to the feelings of being thrown to the wolves.

There is great distrust between local commanders and Zarqawi’s inner circle. al-Qusaymi asks to meet Zarqawi face to face as he does not trust his lieutenants. This can stem from several sources, the main one being that al-Qusaymi is not impressed with their command decisions. The recent spate of arrests of Zarqawi’s lieutenants means that less experienced and qualified commanders rise through the ranks. Despite media portrayal that al Qaeda has a limitless supply of experienced operatives and leaders, organizations do not gain strength by losing their best and most seasoned leaders, particularly while under fire.

al-Qusaymi is writing this letter to attempt to correct problems within al Qaeda’s organization. His capture should be a high priority for the Coalition, as he is both insightful and brave enough to approach Zarqawi to address some perceived fundamental flaws in the organization. al-Qusaymi will have detailed information on the weaknesses of al Qaeda which can be exploited, as well as operational information on the makeup and organization of terror cells and their leaders. Removing the smart leaders and allowing the poor ones to remain in place is an effective way to destroy terrorist organizations, as the poor leaders will make bad decisions that will likely alienate both their own recruits and the Iraqi people.

The overall message of al-Qusaymi letter to Zarqawi is supported by past letters intercepted or published on the web by al Qaeda. Al Qaeda leaders have complained that the Muslim world is shirking jihad and not supporting the fight in Iraq, indicated there are manpower issues in Iraq and Afghanistan and recruiting problems. The lack of quality recruits combined with the Coalition’s dismantling of the organization and the arrest of senior leaders is having a negative affect on the morale of both the foot soldiers and leadership of al Qaeda in Iraq. This letter is further evidence that Iraq has provided for the opportunity to deal an operational defeat to al Qaeda.

An Aside:

I was aware this letter was intercepted yesterday afternoon, and read the account of it on CNN’s website (thanks to Greyhawk). If possible, I prefer to read the entire text of reports or letters such as these and perform my own analysis, and not rely on media outlets to distill the information. I much prefer to provide the complete text than selected media quotes.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.