In mid-October, U.S. officials released a letter they said was written by al-Zawahiri to the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, in July about seeking support for Iraqi insurgents ahead of a U.S. withdrawal.
Days later, al Qaeda in Iraq posted an Internet statement calling the letter "another fabrication ... by the Black House," <u>using its term for the White House</u>.