I just read the text of Ayman Adh-Dhawahiri's speech, and listened to most of it on Al-Jazeera. You get the feeling that these kooks live in their own world, totally oblivious of Arab/Muslim public opinion, or are in total denial. Those guys could be regular buffoons if they are not armed and if they are not violent and if they are not fanatic. Adh-Dhawahiri speaks as if he has a mass following, and you get the impression that he takes himself seriously in that role. I almost thought that he was reading from a teleprompter in this speech. The trend is clear now: Zarqawi speaks only to the fanatical members of the group, Adh-Dhawahiri addresses himself to the larger Arab/Muslim public opinion, while Bin Laden addresses both audiences in his speeches.