Al Qaida cant recruit
The week's news at a glance.
Baghdad
An Islamic militant with ties to al Qaida has complained that the Iraqi people are not turning against the Americans, despite his best efforts to destabilize the country. The U.S. military intercepted a letter, from Jordanian militant Abu Musab Zarqawi to al Qaida’s leadership, in which Zarqawi says he has been attacking sites in Iraq in a vain attempt to cause a civil war. Zarqawi, who is a suspect in last year’s bombing of U.N. headquarters in Baghdad, asks for more operatives so he can attack Iraq’s Shiite majority and provoke retaliation against the Sunnis. Secretary of State Colin Powell said the letter showed that insurgents were “trying to get more terrorists into Iraq.” Some 50 people died this week in the bombing of a police station.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The genetic secrets of South Korea's female free-divers
Under The Radar Unique physiology of 'real-life mermaid' haenyeo women could help treat chronic diseases
-
Democrats: How to rebuild a damaged brand
Feature Trump's approval rating is sinking, but so is the Democratic brand
-
Unraveling autism
Feature RFK Jr. has vowed to find the root cause of the 'autism epidemic' in months. Scientists have doubts.