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Length: 3:57
ANDERSON COOPER: Sad to say, since the elections at
least five U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq,
bringing the number of U.S. casualties for November
to 26.
And today we heard from the insurgency. In a message,
al Qaeda's leader in Iraq mocked the president and
the defense secretary while declaring victory and
threatening even more attacks, both in Iraq and here
at home.
CNN's Michael Ware is in Baghdad. He joins us now
live.
Michael, this new al Qaeda in Iraq tape, it was
posted on the Internet. Let's listen to a clip that
was recorded by the group's leader, this guy Abu
Hamza al-Muhajer. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABU HAMZA AL-MUHAJER, AL QAEDA IN IRAQ LEADER
(through translator): I say to the lame duck, don't
rush to run away as your lame defense secretary ran
away. We haven't had enough of your blood yet. Come
down to the battlefield, you coward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Abu Hamza also claimed they're winning in war
in Iraq and threatened to blow up the White House.
What's remarkable about these tapes is these guys
have such a finely honed sense of propaganda, when to
release things and what to say for maximum impact.
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely,
Anderson. I mean, we've seen the insurgency as a
whole, throughout the course of the war, developing
sophistication. Not just in terms of the battlefield,
but also in terms of the information campaign, the
propaganda war. We've seen them increase their degree
of polish in their propaganda videos and tapes and
also their timing, their attention to detail.
What we've had now from al Qaeda in Iraq is a further
rising tide of triumphalism from militias and
insurgent groups in Iraq. We saw a politician
connected to the militia of anti-American rebel
cleric Muqtada al-Sadr say that Secretary Rumsfeld's
resignation is a defeat for America.
The Islamic Army of Iraq said it was a victory for
the insurgency, and now we have al Qaeda in Iraq
saying it's a victory for them and that the
administration should not run away, "we have not yet
had enough of your blood."
So they're capitalizing on the political turmoil and
upheaval in Washington.
COOPER: I'm going to play another quick excerpt from
this audio tape. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL-MUHAJER (through translator): In the name of the
Mujahideen Shura Council and under the command of the
Islamic nation of Iraq, I pledge to put at your
disposal in your direct command 12,000 fighters. They
are the al Qaeda army. All of them pledge allegiance
to die in the name of God and more than 10,000 others
await to be ready and can't wait to join you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: So he's claiming 12,000 active al Qaeda
fighters and another 10,000 kind of waiting in the
wings. Is there any way to know the accuracy of -- I
mean, how big is al Qaeda in Iraq?
WARE: Well, that's something that's obviously very,
very difficult to calculate. Now, while I'd suggest
that those numbers are most likely inflated or
exaggerated, they may not be so inflated by the
degree that you might at first think.
Certainly in terms of the insurgency, it's been
bandied about that there's as many as 20,000 fighters
in the field on any given day. Of which al Qaeda
itself is between 3 and 5 percent.
However, what you need to take in account is that al
Qaeda brings around it other groups that are
following it. So in that regard, yes, al Qaeda
definitely has thousands here.
Remember, this is a group that started as a handful
of Jordanians in a training camp in Herat, in
Afghanistan. They became Tawhid wal-Jihad under
Zarqawi. Then they became the Mujahideen Shura
Council. Now they've created the Islamic State of
Iraq, as they say.
He's committing these troops to that Islamic state,
the heartland of the caliphate Osama bin Laden wants
to see spread across the world, Anderson.
COOPER: Michael Ware, appreciate your expertise.
Thank you, Michael. Michael Ware, live from
Baghdad.