ON BOARD WITH AL QAEDA

Al Qaeda has plans, big plans.

A July 9, letter, written by al Qaeda's number two leader Ayman al-Zawahiri to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Sunni Jordanian insurgent known for his gruesome beheadings of hostages in Iraq, reveals that al Qaeda has an ambitious agenda.

The Associated Press reports:

In the letter, taking up 13 typed pages in its English translation, Al Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahiri recommends a four-stage expansion of the war in Iraq that would take the fighting to neighboring Muslim countries.

"It has always been my belief that the victory of Islam will never take place until a Muslim state is established ... in the heart of the Islamic world," al-Zawahiri wrote.

The letter laid out his long-term plan: the expulsion of American troops from Iraq, the establishment an Islamic authority and the expansion of the war to Iraq's secular neighbors, including Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

The final stage, al-Zawahiri wrote, would be a clash with Israel, which he said was established to challenge "any new Islamic entity."

The letter, translated by the U.S. government, also asked al-Zarqawi to provide financial support and urged him to avoid bombings mosques, slaughtering hostages to avoid alienating the masses.

Another point of interest is al-Zawahiri's comparison of the war in Iraq to Vietnam.

"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. ... We must be ready starting now."

Obviously, the instances of America's failure to forcefully confront and conquer its enemies has emboldened the terrorists.

One of the most chilling things about the letter is that al Qaeda is counting on the United States to pull out of Iraq before the country is stabilized. The assumption is that Americans eventually will want to cut and run, considering defeat in Iraq to be preferable to maintaining an extended presence in the Middle East and achieving a lasting peace.

Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold has called for Americans to retreat, setting a troop withdrawal deadline for as soon as December 31, 2006.

That's exactly what al Qaeda wants!

Feingold and al-Zawahiri are on the same page!

Cindy Sheehan and the Code Pink, "Bring them home now" bunch also are on board with al Qaeda's number two man.

Based on many of her statements, I imagine that Sheehan might find the final stage in al Qaeda's long-range plan, a clash with Israel, to be especially attractive.

Thursday, a post on an Islamic website claimed that the letter was fake, a fabrication by the U.S. government.

CAIRO, Egypt -- "We in Al Qaeda declare that there is no truth to these claims, and they are baseless, except in the imagination of the politicians of the Black [White] House," according to the statement on a Web site known as a clearing house for Al Qaeda material.

The statement was signed Abu Maysara, who claims to be spokesman for Al Qaeda in Iraq. It could not immediately be authenticated.

"We call on Muslims not to pay attention to this cheap propaganda and to remember that the media will always be the infidels' sole weapon until the end of the battle," the statement said.

For purposes of discussion, let's assume that the post is authentic.

If it is the real deal, al Qaeda is gambling on Americans and people around the world having more faith in known terrorists than the U.S. government. They think that they can charge that the "Black House" created the thirteen-page letter as cheap propaganda and the public will believe them.

The frightening thing is that there are many in the U.S. and abroad who are willing to swallow al Qaeda's propaganda. In fact, these people use the terrorists' propaganda to criticize the Bush administration and undermine the efforts of our military. Our enemies know this. The gullibility of the public provides a good incentive for al Qaeda to keep putting disinformation out there.

Al-Zawahiri and al-Zarqawi have manipulated the media in the past. If a camera isn't around to capture the moment, why bother beheading a hostage?

The terrorists know that with the help of their eager media allies and opportunistic politicians, like Russ Feingold, Dick Durbin, and assorted Dems and RINOs, they can eat away at American support for Bush and the War on Terror.

The media have proven to be a powerful weapon in the past. They were decisive in turning Americans against military action in Vietnam. There is no doubt that the terrorists will try to use the media to help them achieve their stated ends in this holy war--the annihilation of the infidels.

Who are the infidels?

We are, Russ Feingold and Cindy Sheehan included.

Although these active opponents of the Iraq war may serve to aid the enemy, the enemy surely won't show them any mercy.

Before hijacking American Airlines Flight 11 and crashing it into the North Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, did Mohamed Atta make sure that no radical Leftists were onboard?