I think the letter is genuine. We can't verify it because we don't know where he is, he is on the run. I have seen his signature before and it looks like it. I think it is authentic.

He senses Sudan will soon become a failed state that will be dismantled.

It's very dangerous. The timing is extremely important. He's sensing that there's a failed state in Sudan and he would like to extend his bases.

But they will also do the minimum to stop people from going to fight in Iraq to avoid a sectarian conflict at home.

These elections ... will put an end to the era of dictatorship by one party or faction in decision-making in Palestinians political life. They will set the cornerstone for new nationalist institutions based on merit and probity ... and will establish a nation of law.

He is presenting himself not as a terrorist, a bloodsucker, a man who would like to destroy the world -- he also has a political agenda, he is using this terrorism for political ends.