Just as the US government was keen on linking any group or government with Al-Qa`idah to mobilize American public opinion after Sep. 11, the US has consistently claimed that Abu Mus`ab Az-Zarqawi is part of Al-Qa`idah. And just as we now know that Ansar Al-Islam is not part of Al-Qa`idah, Abu Mus`ab has emerged with a claim of responsibility today using a new name of a new group, that is different from Al-Qa`idah. Apparently, he thinks of himself as prince (not to be confused with Prince Bandar Bin Sultan), as in Amir of the Tawhid and Jihad Community organization. Tawhid (unity or unification, although it has more theological connotations here) has a special Wahhabi resonance, but Arabic newspapers (including Al-Hayat) have been maintaining that Abu Mus`ab's organization is separate from Al-Qa`idah in Iraq. I also noticed that the statement by this new group also ends with a denial that it had killed "innocent" people. That is noteworthy because the Bin Laden kooks do not even deny that they have killed innocent people. I was reading the latest bulletin that is produced by Al-Qa`idah (known as Mu`askar Al-Battar) and circulated on Arabic websites, and they--Bin Laden kooks, that is--do not even deny that they kill innocent people, including innocent Muslims. On p. 6 of this bulletin, there is an admission of the killing of "some boys" for example. I do not know whether one can read a rift or competition between Abu Mus`ab's group and the Bin Laden's group. The recent attack in Saudi Arabia reveals that Al-Qa`idah has become aware of rising Muslim disgust with their killing of innocent civilians. But it is doubtful that they care too much about public opinion, even in Saudi Arabia. Also, this publication (Mu`askar Al-Battar) rails against "secular" Arab intellectuals.