There are buried ledes and then there's missing the point altogether. There was some desultory coverage of a letter recovered from the headquarters of the the now-late (and unlamented) Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, sent by an al-Qaeda leader known as "Atiyah." While the entire letter has been translated and posted, most news stories simply noted AQ's wish for the Z man to make nice with Iraqi civilians.
Fortunately, the Christian Science Monitor looked at the entire document and what it says about "Al Qaeda itself see[ing] the continued American presence in Iraq as a boon for the terror network, which has recently shown signs of expanding into the Palestinian territories and North Africa." From the letter itself, as translated by the Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy:
The most important thing is that you continue in your jihad in Iraq, and that you be patient and forbearing, even in weakness, and even with fewer operations; even if each day had half of the number of current daily operations, that is not a problem, or even less than that. So, do not be hasty. The most important thing is that the jihad continues with steadfastness and firm rooting, and that it grows in terms of supporters, strength, clarity of justification, and visible proof each day. Indeed, prolonging the war is in our interest, [emphasis added] with God's permission. The best acts are those that last, however few they may be, provided that we guard against mistakes building up and that we have integration in the jihadist enterprise. The only thing that you have to fear is yourselves and your own mistakes, not your enemy. By God, your enemy will never defeat you as long as you are patient and steadfast, not having caused damage that is great or frequent; and you seek help in God. It is the grace of God and the grace of the Supporter, and the Almighty will not neglect us. "Now surely the help of God is nigh".
In coverage of the "war on terror," doesn't this attitude of al-Qaeda count under what the public has a right to know?
(Hat tip to TomPaine.commonsense of the Institute for America's Future.)
Update: I have since been informed that -- once again -- the blogosphere was well ahead of the traditional media on this story. Check out Abu Aardvark, Unbossed and especially Consortium News.