Al-Qaida letter's authenticity challenged

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- The authenticity of a 13-page letter outlining al-Qaida strategy purportedly written by Osama bin Laden's second-in-command is being challenged.

The 6,000-word letter allegedly from Ayman al-Zawahiri was released by U.S. intelligence agencies Oct. 12. It was reportedly intended for al-Qaida's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who is leading the insurgence against U.S.-led coalition troops, as well as Shiite civilians.

U.S. intelligence authorities said they have the "highest confidence" in the authenticity of the letter, which they said was intercepted during a counterintelligence operation in Iraq.

However, the Christian Science Monitor said conspiracy theorists are claiming on Internet forums it was the CIA who authored the letter as part of a propaganda move, just days before Iraqis went to vote on a new constitution.

The blessing on the prophet Muhammad at the letter's beginning doesn't sound right, said Juan Cole, University of Michigan Middle East expert. He claims it appears to reflect Shiite, not Sunni, language.

"My gut tells me the letter is a forgery," Cole wrote on his popular Middle East Web site, adding that Shiite groups in Iraq may have produced it.