by Pat Lang
| Col. Patrick W. Lang (Ret.), a highly decorated retired senior officer of U.S. Military Intelligence and U.S. Army Special Forces, served as “Defense Intelligence Officer for the Middle East, South Asia and Terrorism” for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and was later the first Director of the Defense Humint Service. Col. Lang was the first Professor of the Arabic Language at the United States Military Academy at West Point. For his service in the DIA, he was awarded the “Presidential Rank of Distinguished Executive.” He is a frequent commentator on television and radio, including PBS’s Newshour, and most recently on MSNBC’s Hardball and NPR’s “All Things Considered.” His CV and blog are linked below the fold. |
I have read the letter in English and looked at the Arabic on a “sampling” basis and my conclusion would be that it was writen by someone who was not a native speaker of Arabic but who had been well educated in the language. I would guess that an Iranian, A Pakistani or the odd Westerner with such a capability would be likely possibilities. (Download in PDF format.)
I would opt for the Westerner because it reads the way a Westerner with an education in Political Science would lay out strategic guidance and argumentation in sending a directive to a subordinate. All that stuff about – first we do this and then we do that and lastly we do such and such is a bit much for me and does not sound like your basic Islamic fanatic however well educated in Egyptian schools.
Also, the eagerness to list all those heroes of Islam with great concern for their patronimics seems excessive. They generally take such knowledge for granted. Doesn’t eveyone know who Nur ad-Din Zengi was?
I think it is a phony, but why it was written and by whom, I know not. I would not rule out a third world person educated in our methodology.
The Arabic is, to me, a little simplistic and too simple for the way an Egyptian like Zawahiri would write. This is the way I would write if trying to do this.
Personal Blog: Sic Semper Tyrannis 2005 || Bio || CV
Recommended Books || More BooTrib <a href="Posts
Novel: The Butcher’s Cleaver (download free by chapter, PDF format)
“Drinking the Kool-Aid,” Middle East Policy Council Journal, Vol. XI, Summer 2004, No. 2
Par for the course, I suppose!
Makes one wonder the why’s of all of this nonsense.
to attract top quality disinfo specialists these days.
I have read so many articles about this letter, but not one shows any sympathy for the nervous young man who did his best to complete the task he was assigned.
Who among the critics has gotten out an Arabic dictionary and tried their hand at writing a better Zawahiri letter?
Where’s that civic pride? Come on, America, your government needs you! Show the world that Americans CAN TOO write credible Zawahiri letters. Lots of them!
Let those .gov mailboxes overflow with your Resolve!
Juan Cole had a similar analysis here.
Also, the NYT had a short article the other day here which seems to reveal a deliberate vagueness on the part of the Bush regime to provide any solid evidence as to how they came to have this letter in the first place, nevermind how they ascertained it’s (so-called) legitimacy. Sadly, as with so much else with the self-destructing Times these days, nowhere in the article is there even a hint of the obvious question being posed as to whether the document is legitimate or not.
See. To me, this is like bombshell kind of stuff. Why isn’t Col. Lang on CNN or MSNBC talking about this? (I know, I know. The MSM sucks. This is a rhetorical question).
But expert opinion of some type of falsified evidence that was presented by this proven lying administration, and was timed to support the “terror alert” de jour, is big news in my book.
Thanks Col.
My gut feeling was the same….smells like fake to me and I had that feeling the minute I heard about it on the news.
It appears to me after extensive anaylsis the letter was written by Ozzie Guillen.
The style, the format, the logical interplay of interactive isotonic variables constructed within a framework of constitutional polarity, the adverse methodology of “anti” logic, the duality of presence and non-spherical transfer of causation are hallmarks of the Guillenesque style.
I suspect a oscillating linkage might be found between the reigning ravine of Chavez and current follipian attempts by Guillen forces to manuever themselves into a position of historical concurrence not seen since 1917 are about to unfold.
The question is: Is Czarawhi capable of pitching a complete game?
Fake. It doesn’t feel right:
That about sums it up. That letter is about as real as the source who said NYC subway was under imminent threat. Someone is out of control here. The propaganda machine has lost a wheel or something.
Czarawhi sends me letters like this all the time. I never read them.
No fair!
I only get letters from Arafat’s widow!
I read part of the letter. I mean it just lays out the CIA or whatever agency “Jose” works with idea that there is a big Islamic war about to begin.
There is no such war about to begiin. Al Queda is a couple of guys in a tent.
But I think the “Jose” is great. Sounds like trouble for Latin America to me.
Jose and Anonymous. Anonymous is another dumbass with his head stuck up there.
These agencies are the most idiotic things with the most ignorant suburban asswholes at all levels.
THis is just stuff for satire. I can’t take it seriously except they actually go around killing real people for the phantoms they are chasing.
Patrick Lang….you better come clean.