Like the unexploded bomb, 9 of the 10 bombs that exploded contained about 20 pounds of explosives; the tenth was believed to be about 40 pounds, he said.

But U.S. intelligence sources now say that Zarqawi's letter has been misinterpreted, reports Geostrategy-Direct, the global intelligence news service.
They say that far from expressing desperation, Zarqawi's letter was meant to express sarcasm, irony and the cold analysis of a brutal professional at work.

What took place with the Zarqawi letter was standard for the CIA: the disk on which the letter was written was relayed to the translator's pool in both Baghdad and Langley, and then the English text was shown to CIA analysts. The analysts had little contact with the translators to determine such vital things as mood and context.
The reason: Linguists are taught merely to translate and usually have little expertise in intelligence issues, particularly regarding al-Qaida.