The results should spell out the status of the Sunni Arab "Awakening" movement -- which opposes al Qaeda in Iraq -- and the popularity of the Shiite factions, such as those backing al-Maliki, Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, and the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq.
Whether he is in Iraq or Syria, allegations that he is collaborating with al-Qaida terrorists in Iraq make sense given that Absi was formerly allied with Abu Musab Zarkawi, who led al-Qaida forces in Iraq until he was killed by US forces in June 2006.
Al-Masri is an Egyptian who replaced Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as head of al Qaeda in Iraq after al-Zarqawi's death in a U.S. airstrike last June.
Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri had criticized the Jordanian-born founder and leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, for his killing of civilians and lack of political acumen to win public support.
The letter set out concerns about the al Qaeda-Iraq relationship more clearly than anything the CIA had published before.
" Mr. Tenet puts in her mouth the haughty and foolish assertion that the al Qaeda-Iraq issue was "open and shut" and "no further analysis is required.
Petreaus and Crocker explained that in general, the US and its allies face two distinct enemy forces in Iraq today - al-Qaida in Iraq and Iranianbacked Shi'ite forces.
Shaker al-Abssi, the leader of the Fatah al-Islam group that is involved in that conflict stands accused in Jordan of having conspired with Abu Musaab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born founder of al-Qaida in Iraq, to carry out terrorist attacks on Western targets in Jordan.
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So the first key change was a big sea change in the Sunnis' appreciation of the strategic reality of Iraq brought about by al-Qaeda and Iraq's mistake in bombing the mosque and bringing the militias under the war.
Sadr's supposed arch-foe, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, who leads al-Qaida in Iraq and whose operational commanders are in Iran, responded to his death by calling for attacks against Israel.
And a weeklong operation against Shiite militias loyal to Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in southern Iraq, a battle on which al-Maliki staked his prestige, ended only after negotiations in Iran among Iraqi lawmakers, Iranian leaders and al-Sadr's representatives.
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It'll mean reaching beyond the followers of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of al-Qaida in Iraq killed in a U.S. air strike last week.
Jordan provided key information on the whereabouts of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, who was killed by a U.S. airstrike in 2004.
The city went on high alert after the Islamic State of Iraq -- the insurgent umbrella group that includes al Qaeda in Iraq -- distributed leaflets to police in Samarra on Saturday, warning them that they have three days to "repent" or be killed.
And the most disastrous outcomes would be western Iraq becoming a haven and operating base for al-Qaida in Iraq and other Jihadist strike forces against the United States, terrorist organizations...
U.S. military sources confirmed to NPR the capture of al-Saeedi and his status as the deputy commander of al-Qaida in Iraq.
Jalal al-Deen al-Sagheer, a senior Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq member, said al-Maliki was at talks held Sunday and that the prime minister congratulated participants, promising to have another meeting in the coming weeks.
And they've essentially turned against al-Qaida in Iraq and are now working with the U.S. troops - partnering with them.
It seems, too, that the Arab world may be turning against the more extreme part of the insurgency the jihadists led by al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who blow up mosques around Baghdad and Palestinian wedding parties in Jordan (see article).
Al-Nusra is deemed a terror group by the US as an alias of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Today in Iraq US forces are concentrating their efforts not on Iranian proxies but on Syrian-supported al-Qaida in Iraq units and cells.
Two members of the Sons of Iraq -- a group of former Sunni insurgents who have turned against al Qaeda in Iraq -- were killed in Dora, southern Baghdad.
CNN: Iraq: Businessman killed as attacks on Christians continue
Mendes Junior projects in Iraq included the constructions of the Baghdad-Al Qaim-Akashat railway, the Iraq Expressway Number One (the largest controlled-access highway in the Middle East) and a pumping station on the Euphrates River.
Despite Syria's open sponsorship of the insurgency in Iraq, its strategic alliance with Iran, as well as its sponsorship of Hizbullah, Hamas and al-Qaida in Iraq and Lebanon, the Bush administration sought to prevent Israel from destroying Syria's Iranian-financed, North Korean-built nuclear installation.
Take al Qaeda in Iraq and Al-Shabaab in Somalia: The Islamist groups may be on different continents, but they subscribe to similar ideals, inciting state-to-state rivalries.
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An important differentiator between al Qaeda in Iraq and al-Nusra is one of its tactics: Zarqawi made a practice of indiscriminately killing Iraqi civilians, effectively terrorizing the Iraqi population, especially the Shiite minority.
Iraq's Vice-President Tariq al-Hashemi has said Iraq's government was behind Thursday's series of bombings that killed nearly 70 people in Baghdad.
BBC: Baghdad blasts: Hashemi accuses government over attacks
In a 21-minute audio clip posted on militant websites late Monday, al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi said his group was providing half of its budget to the conflict in Syria and that al Nusra whose leaders are generally unknown won't have a separate leader.
Sheikh al-Baghdadi, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, said that he had delayed the announcement of the formal merger with al-Nusra because he wanted to allow Syrians time to get to know al-Nusra on its own terms, without the inherent negative bias that would be caused by an early announcement of its ties to al Qaeda.
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