It’s a match made in (virtual) mujahideen paradise: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his group al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (Unity and Holy War), swearing loyalty to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda on the Internet. Now that’s a real October surprise. The “Zarqawi” letter, in Arabic, goes straight to the point: “Oath of loyalty of leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi towards the Sheikh of the Mujahideen, Osama bin Laden.” It is signed by “Zarqawi”. It qualifies bin Laden as the supreme jihad commander. And then the most intriguing part: it implies that al-Qaeda had finally recognized the merits of Zarqawi’s strategy. “Slowly our honorable brothers in al-Qaeda began to understand the strategy of al-Tawhid wal-Jihad in the land of two rivers … and they began to rejoice over our program.” That’s odd: if al-Qaeda thinks Zarqawi is so effective, it should consider joining al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, and not the other way around. Washington officials say the letter may be an al-Qaeda warning call before an imminent major attack against the United States. Full Story