al-Zawahiri: Annotated & Unhinged

Overall al Qaeda #2 man Ayman al-Zawahiri sent a letter to al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al Zaqawi, a letter that was intercepted by coalition forces. That letter hasnow been made public. Download the entire letter al-Zawahiri letter here, or read the conveniently annotated version below.

In the name of God, praise be to God, and praise and blessings be upon the Messenger of God, his family, his Companions, and all those who follow him. .................................

The gracious brother/Abu Musab, God protect him and watch over him, may His religion, and His Book and the Sunna of His Prophet @ aid him, I ask the Almighty that he bless him, us, and all Muslims, with His divine aid, His clear victory, and His release from suffering be close at hand. Likewise, I ask the Almighty to gather us as He sees fit from the glory of this world and the prize of the hereafter.

1-Dear brother, God Almighty knows how much I miss meeting with you, how much I long to join you in your historic battle against the greatest of criminals and apostates in the heart of the Islamic world, the field where epic and major battles in the history of
Islam were fought. I think that if I could find a way to you, I would not delay a day,
God willing.

[I know if I left the cave, the Americans and Pakistanis would light me up like an infidel Christmas tree.

2-My dear brother, we are following your news, despite the difficulty and hardship. We
received your last published message sent to Sheikh Usama Bin Ladin, God save him.
Likewise, I made sure in my last speech-that Aljazeera broadcast Saturday, 11 Jumadi I,
1426h, 18 June 2005-to mention you, send you greetings, and show support and thanks for the heroic acts you are performing in defense of Islam and the Muslims, but I do not
know what Aljazeera broadcast. Did this part appear or not? I will try to attach the
full speech with this message, conditions permitting.

Likewise, I showed my support for your noble initiative to join with your brothers,
during a prior speech I sent to the brothers a number of months ago, but the brothers'
circumstances prevented its publication.

[Infidels once again captured my messengers before the could carry out their mission]

3-I want to reassure you about our situation. The summer started hot with operations
escalating in Afghanistan. The enemy struck a blow against us with the arrest of Abu
al-Faraj, may God break his bonds. However, no Arab brother was arrested because of
him. The brothers tried-and were successful to a great degree-to contain the fall of
Abu al-Faraj as much as they could.

[For a change, the capture of al-Faraj did not lead to the capture of his entire cell. You could learn from this. Ha-ha.]

However, the real danger comes from the agent Pakistani army that is carrying out
operations in the tribal areas looking for mujahedeen.

[They're on us like a fat kid on a pork chop]

4-I want to keep corresponding with you about the details of what is going on in dear
Iraq, especially since we do not know the full truth as you know it.

[It's hard to get good television reception this far underground, so no Olbermann for us]

Therefore, I want you to explain to me your situation in a little detail, especially in regards to the political angle. I want you to express to me what is on your mind in regards to what is in my mind in the way of questions and inquiries.

[Beheadings? Car-bombing civilians? Beheadings? Dude, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?]

A-I want to be the first to congratulate you for what God has blessed you with in terms
of fighting battle in the heart of the Islamic world, which was formerly the field for
major battles in Islam's history, and what is now the place for the greatest battle of
Islam in this era, and what will happen, according to what appeared in the Hadiths of
the Messenger of God @ about the epic battles between Islam and atheism. It has always
been my belief that the victory of Islam will never take place until a Muslim state is
established in the manner of the Prophet in the heart of the Islamic world, specifically
in the Levant, Egypt, and the neighboring states of the Peninsula and Iraq; however, the
center would be in the Levant and Egypt. This is my opinion, which I do not preach as
infallibile, but I have reviewed historical events and the behavior of the enemies of
Islam themselves, and they did not establish Israel in this triangle surrounded by Egypt
and Syria and overlooking the Hijaz except for their own interests.

[I've got free time galore]

As for the battles that are going on in the far-flung regions of the Islamic world, such
as Chechnya, Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Bosnia, they are just the groundwork and the
vanguard for the major battles which have begun in the heart of the Islamic world. We
ask God that He send down his victory upon us that he promised to his faithful
worshipers.

[‘cause right now, we're getting spanked.]

It is strange that the Arab nationalists also have, despite their avoidance of Islamic
practice, come to comprehend the great importance of this province. It is like a bird
whose wings are Egypt and Syria, and whose heart is Palestine. They have come to
comprehend the goal of planting Israel in this region, and they are not misled in this,
rather they have admitted their ignorance of the religious nature of this conflict.

What I mean is that God has blessed you and your brothers while many of the Muslim
mujahedeen have longed for that blessing, and that is Jihad in the heart of the Islamic
world. He has, in addition to that, granted you superiority over the idolatrous
infidels, traitorous apostates, and those turncoat deviants.

[“superiority,” being defined as the ability to reach paradise in an ever-more-expedited manner]

This is what God Almighty has distinguished you and your brothers with over the
mujahedeen before you who fought in the heart of the Islamic world, and in Egypt and
Syria to be precise, but this splendor and superiority against the enemies of Islam was
not ordained for them.

God also blessed you not only with the splendor of the spearhead of Jihad, but with the
splendor as well of the doctrines of monotheism, the rejection of polytheism, and
avoidance of the tenets of the secularists and detractors and inferiors, the call to the
pure way of the Prophet, and the sublime goal that the Prophet @ left to his companions
{. This is a blessing on top of blessing on top of blessing which obliges you and your
noble brothers to be constantly thankful and full of praise. The Almighty said: (If ye
are grateful, He is pleased with you) and the Almighty says: (If ye are grateful, I will
add more unto you.)

B-Because of this, we are extremely concerned, as are the mujahedeen and all sincere
Muslims, about your Jihad and your heroic acts until you reach its intended goal.
You know well that purity of faith and the correct way of living are not connected
necessarily to success in the field unless you take into consideration the reasons and
practices which events are guided by. For the grandson of the Prophet Imam al Hussein
Bin Ali }, the Leader of the Faithful Abdallah Bin al-Zubair }, Abdul Rahman Bin
al-Ashath ~, and other great people, did not achieve their sought-after goal.

[Dude, you are like TOTALLY hosed. You'll be lucky to make it to Hanukah.]

C-If our intended goal in this age is the establishment of a caliphate in the manner of
the Prophet and if we expect to establish its state predominantly-according to how it
appears to us-in the heart of the Islamic world, then your efforts and sacrifices-God
permitting-are a large step directly towards that goal.

[Okay, God maybe isn't permitting this, but just in case he might change his mind, keep at it!]

So we must think for a long time about our next steps and how we want to attain it, and
it is my humble opinion that the Jihad in Iraq requires several incremental goals:

The first stage: Expel the Americans from Iraq.

[Though this Cindy Sheehan is not nearly as helpful as Senator Kerry suggested in our meetings in Paris]

The second stage: Establish an Islamic authority or amirate, then develop it and support
it until it achieves the level of a caliphate- over as much territory as you can to
spread its power in Iraq, i.e., in Sunni areas, is in order to fill the void stemming
from the departure of the Americans, immediately upon their exit and before un-Islamic
forces attempt to fill this void, whether those whom the Americans will leave behind
them, or those among the un-Islamic forces who will try to jump at taking power.

[These un-Islamic forces being the Army and police forces of a democratically elected Iraq that outnumber us more every day, the bastards]

There is no doubt that this amirate will enter into a fierce struggle with the foreign
infidel forces, and those supporting them among the local forces, to put it in a state
of constant preoccupation with defending itself, to make it impossible for it to
establish a stable state which could proclaim a caliphate, and to keep the Jihadist
groups in a constant state of war, until these forces find a chance to annihilate them.

[Nutty as I am in this cave, even I am not unhinged enough to expect this cockamamie plan to actually work.]

The third stage: Extend the jihad wave to the secular countries neighboring Iraq.

[A little help, please!]

The fourth stage: It may coincide with what came before: the clash with Israel, because
Israel was established only to challenge any new Islamic entity.

[And let's just skip over that “O-fer” record okay?]

My raising this idea-I don't claim that it's infallible-is only to stress something
extremely important. And it is that 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. We will return to having the secularists and traitors holding sway
over us. Instead, their ongoing mission is to establish an Islamic state, and defend
it, and for every generation to hand over the banner to the one after it until the Hour
of Resurrection.

If the matter is thus, we must contemplate our affairs carefully, so that we are not
robbed of the spoils, and our brothers did not die, so that others can reap the fruits
of their labor.

[That reminds me, I need to complete my will…]

D-If we look at the two short-term goals, which are removing the Americans and
establishing an Islamic amirate in Iraq, or a caliphate if possible, then, we will see
that the strongest weapon which the mujahedeen enjoy - after the help and granting of
success by God - is popular support from the Muslim masses in Iraq, and the surrounding
Muslim countries.

[It's there. I saw it on CNN.]

There is of course more, if you are interested. Download the letter for yourself.

NOTE: Dan Riehl has the full (unannotated) text online.