8/07/2005

Dissent In The Ranks -- Complaints About the "Quality" of Attacks vs Quantity...

oh yes...we've heard the stories...soldiers complaining about the 'lack of leadership'...soldiers writing about losing sight of the mission...soldiers writing about mistreatment of foreign fighters...

Wait! what did I just write??

"Mistreatment of foreign fighters"...?

Well, yeah...when the authors of the letters are from within the ranks of Al Qaeda...

A letter allegedly written by a member of Al Qaeda in Iraq to its country head Abu Mosab Al Zarqawi suggests that there was dissent in the ranks of fighters operating out of Mosul, according to excerpts provided in a statement by the US military on Saturday.

In the letter that the US says it discovered July 27 during a raid on a home in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, the author “Abu Zayd” complained of poor local leadership in the organization and the mistreatment of foreign fighters.

“This is a clarification of what has become of the situation in Mosul, and it is no secret to you the noticeable decrease in the attacks carried out by the mujahideen from not long ago when Mosul was in the hands of the mujahideen,” wrote Abu Zayd.

The most recent wave of bloody attacks in the city occurred in late June...

OH Man!!

Seems like not only the President is suffering from lower ratings in the opinion polls...

Among the charges Abu Zayd levels at the leadership, according to the summary provided by the statement, are the incompetence of the Mosul leadership, disobedience of troops and the squandering of funds.

His woes include the “deplorable” conditions suffered by non-Iraqi fighters including bad pay, housing problems and marginalisation within the organisation. The statement did not give Abu Zayd’s nationality.

It also said attacks “lack diversity” and that there was a focus on “quantity not quality”.

A similar letter by a cell leader who fought in Fallujah was found in May in Baghdad, said the statement.

Can we blame it on the heat?

DR