UBL Tells Zarqawi to Hit U.S.

From a Fox News report we learn that intercepted communications from Osama bin Laden to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi contain instructions for Zarqawi and his followers to attack inside the U.S. The Department of Homeland Security believes the threat to be credible but nonspecific.

I don't want to downplay the seriousness of any threat but, frankly, this one doesn't make a whole lot of sense. It wasn't too long ago that Zarqawi was an independent operator with a ragtag group of followers comprised of a mix of ex-Baathists, fanatical Muslim recruits and volunteers from other Arab countries, and possibly a few Syrian regulars. They adopted a variety of confusing names and appeared to be primarily undisciplined thugs kidnapping, murdering, and bombing opportunistically. To all of a sudden have Zarqawi's followers attack inside the U.S. with the sophistication of al-Qaeda's 9-11 plotters, some of whom spent a long time in the U.S., just doesn't seem readily feasible. Also, it's probably not a stretch to assume that Zarqawi and his boys already have their hands full in Iraq.

Of course, I could be wrong.

Also:

The Jawa Report
Speed Of Thought
Backcountry Conservative
Ace Of Spades HQ

One other thing. I don't discount for a second that Zarqawi and his group have the ability to expand operations outside Iraq and into neighboring countries. Attacking American or U.S.-friendly interests in the Persian Gulf area or Jordan or Turkey seems quite possible.

[Update] Chad Evans at In The Bullpen raises an interesting point about Zarqawi's psychological makeup. From a strategic perspective, Zarqawi failed in his attempt to get the U.S. out of Iraq, he failed to start a civil war, he failed to stop the January elections, and he failed to intimidate Iraqis into not voting. Now he's being directed by bin Laden to expand his theater of operation while his forces are stressed by loss of fighters, vaporized suicide bombers, and the capture or death of key organizational members. In a nutshell, Zarqawi's not getting a lot of positive feedback to fortify his ambition and bolster his motivation. Hell, if it wasn't for the MSM continually touting Zarqawi as a celebrity 'militant' with a noble cause, he wouldn't have any reason to get out of bed in the morning.