More on this Shady Letter

For a more intellectual discussion of the authenticity of the Al Qaeda letter captured by the United States, I refer you to Juan Cole and his discussion on why this letter is fake. Here are some excerpts:

On the Blessing to the Prophet

The very first element of the letter is the blessing on the Prophet… the phrase "salla Allahu `alayhi wa alihi wa sallam" (the blessings and peace of God be upon him and his family) is a Shiite form of the salutation…I do not believe that an Egyptian like al-Zawahiri would use this phraseology at all… Adding to the salutation… would be an insult to Zarqawi and to the hardline Sunnis in Iraq.

Al Qaeda themselves have also distanced themselves from this letter.