Propaganda War

Sadly, the first thing I thought when I heard about the al-Qaeda letter showing friction between al-Zarqawi and al-Zawahiri, was that it was a psy-op activity. The timing and content of the information seems too easily the work of counter-intelligence.

Not unexpectedly, al-Qaeda is protesting that it's a fake. Which then makes one ponder if it is indeed real.

The terrorist group denied the letter was from al Qaeda and claimed it was "another fabrication ... by the Black House," using its term for the White House.

CNN has not authenticated the statement, which was posted on several Web sites that often carry messages from al Qaeda in Iraq and was signed by Abu Maysara al-Iraqi, the man who acts as the group's spokesperson.

U.S. officials say they intercepted the 6,300-word letter from Ayman al-Zawahiri to al-Zarqawi, head of al Qaeda in Iraq, and released this week a translation of the full text of the manuscript. (Full text)

Responding to al Qaeda in Iraq's denial, a spokesman for the U.S. director of national intelligence, John Negroponte, said top officials in the U.S. government are confident the letter is real.

I think I'll see if I can find any opinion on this in the blogsphere.