Originally posted on sciy.org by Ron Anastasia on Wed 27 Sep 2006 06:51 AM PDT
Report offered by Bush shows terrorism threat evolving and growing
By Greg Miller
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON - President Bush on Tuesday declassified portions of a high-level intelligence report that describes the Iraq conflict as a major catalyst for Islamist radicalism around the world, but also cites other causes for the expanding terrorist threat.
Bush took the highly unusual step of releasing key findings of the classified intelligence study in an attempt to blunt a growing furor in Washington over news reports over the weekend in which intelligence officials described sections of the document that indicate the war in Iraq has made the terrorism problem worse.
But the release of the document's principal findings appeared likely to add fuel to the election season debate over the impact of the war in Iraq, and provided scant support for the president's position that the U.S. occupation of the country had made America safer.
At a White House news conference, Bush lashed out at what he suggested was a politically motivated leak of the report's conclusions, as well as at critics who have cited the intelligence estimate to question his administration's course in Iraq and argue that the drawn-out conflict is adding to the terrorist danger.
``Some people have, you know, guessed what's in the report and have concluded that going into Iraq was a mistake,'' Bush said, appearing alongside Afghan President Hamid Karzai. ``I strongly disagree. I think it's naive. I think it's a mistake for people to believe that going on the offense against people that want to do harm to the American people makes us less safe.''
The section released by the White House does not include an explicit conclusion that the war in Iraq has increased the terrorist threat to Americans. But the thrust of the so-called ``key judgments'' is that the terrorist danger is morphing and growing, and that the Iraq war is a major contributing force in that trend.
``We assess that the Iraq jihad is shaping a new generation of terrorist leaders and operatives,'' reads one of the main conclusions of the report, which represents the consensus view of all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies. ``The Iraq conflict has become the `cause celebre' for jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of U.S. involvement in the Muslim world and cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement.''
Among other findings, the report said Al-Qaida is exploiting the war in Iraq to attract new donors and recruits, that fighters with experience in Iraq are likely to function as leaders in a new generation of jihadists and that growing Iraqi involvement in Al-Qaida's operations there could free foreign fighters to leave the country and turn their attention to other targets.
Bush said he ordered the key judgments declassified -- four pages out of the 30-page document -- so that ``everybody can draw their own conclusions about what the report says.'' Other officials said it was designed to bolster statements from administration officials in recent days that the report was wide-ranging, and that assessing the impact of the Iraq war was not its main focus.
Even so, the portion made public makes at least six separate references to the conflict in Iraq, describing it as a recruiting tool for Islamists, a training ground for jihadists and a laboratory for lethal new terrorist methods that are increasingly being exported to other countries.
Overall, the report offers a remarkably bleak assessment of the evolving terrorist threat.
Although counterterrorism operations have damaged the leadership of Al-Qaida, the report concludes that the global jihadist movement ``is spreading and adapting to counterterrorism efforts,'' and that if current trends continue ``threats to U.S. interests at home and abroad will become more diverse, leading to increasing attacks worldwide.''
The threat from ``self-radicalized cells will grow in importance to U.S. counterterrorism efforts,'' according to the report, which described Europe as ``an important venue for attacking Western interests.''
The report, known as a National Intelligence Estimate, represents the U.S. intelligence community's most authoritative and comprehensive examination of global terrorism trends. The document was produced by a senior group of analysts under the direction of National Intelligence Director John Negroponte.
The report, titled ``trends in Global Terrorism: Implications for the United States'' was completed in April. Some members of Congress were briefed on the report earlier this year, but its conclusions on Iraq were not publicly disclosed until this past weekend, when news organizations published articles based on accounts from government officials familiar with its contents.
The NIE lists other factors contributing to the growth in militant Islam, including ``entrenched grievances'' among Muslims and ``fear of Western domination'' as well as the slow pace of economic, social and political reforms in many Muslim nations.
Democrats pounced on the report.
``What I conclude from it is that our failed strategy in Iraq has made the world more dangerous,'' said Rep. Jane Harman, D-El Segundo, the ranking Democrat on the House intelligence committee. Harman said the declassification of the document could have immediate repercussions, shifting the course of debate on Capitol Hill away from the White House agenda.
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