Bruce Hoffman
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Hoffman Bruce Hoffman
Bruce Hoffman, a terrorist expert at the Rand Corporation's Washington office, said he believed that the Mujahedeen Shura and Abdullah Rashid al-Baghdadi were real, but was unconvinced that Mr. Zarqawi had ceded control of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. Having brought the country to the brink of civil war, Mr. Zarqawi may have decided that it was a good time to step back as events in Iraq unfold. There are other reasons why Mr. Zarqawi might want to take a less prominent role in Iraq.