Intel report:
Iraq a 'cause célèbre' for extremists
President says NIE leak was political, denies war has worsened terrorism
WASHINGTON - A declassified government intelligence report says the war in Iraq has become a 'cause célèbre' for Islamic extremists, breeding deep resentment of the U.S. that is likely to get worse before it gets better.
In the bleak report, released Tuesday on President Bush’s orders, the nation’s most veteran analysts conclude that despite serious damage to the leadership of al-Qaida, the threat from Islamic extremists has spread both in numbers and in geographic reach.
“If this trend continues, threats to U.S. interests at home and abroad will become more diverse, leading to increasing attacks worldwide,” the document says. “The confluence of shared purpose and dispersed actors will make it harder to find and undermine jihadist groups.”
* The increased role of Iraqis in opposing al-Qaida in Iraq might lead the terror group’s veteran foreign fighters to focus their efforts outside the country.
* While Iran and Syria are the most active state sponsors of terror, many other countries will be unable to prevent their resources from being exploited by terrorists.
* The underlying factors that are fueling the spread of the extremist Muslim movement outweigh its vulnerabilities. These factors are entrenched grievances and a slow pace of reform in home countries, rising anti-U.S. sentiment and the Iraq war.
* Groups “of all stripes” will increasingly use the Internet to communicate, train, recruit and obtain support.
NIE pdf file MSNBC Hardball :: videos
Ron Reagan :: Not safe. Not safer. Less safe.
