Haaretz
September 24, 2006
The
Iraq war gave birth to a new generation of Islamic radicals and the
terrorist threat has grown since the Sept. 11 attacks, according to a U.S.
intelligence report cited in The New York Times on Saturday.
A
National Intelligence Estimate completed in April says Islamic radicalism
has mushroomed worldwide and cites the Iraq war as a reason for the spread
of jihad ideology, the newspaper reported.
"The estimate concludes
that the radical Islamic movement has expanded from a core of Qaeda
operatives and affiliated groups to include a new class of
'self-generating' cells inspired by Al Qaida's leadership but without any
direct connection to Osama bin Laden or his top lieutenants," the
newspaper said.
The Times cited more than a dozen U.S. government
officials and outside experts with knowledge of the classified
document.
It is the first formal appraisal of global terrorism by
U.S. intelligence agencies since the war began in March 2003 and
represents a consensus view of the 16 U.S. spy services.
"According
to reports, this intelligence document should put the final nail in the
coffin for President Bush's phony argument about the Iraq war," Democratic
Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts said.
"... The fact that we need
a new direction in Iraq to really win the war on terror and make Americans
safer could not be clearer or more urgent -- yet this administration
stubbornly clings to a failed 'stay-the-course' strategy."
Some of
the estimate's conclusions confirm predictions in a January 2003 National
Intelligence Council report that said a war in Iraq might increase support
for political Islam worldwide, according to the newspaper.
"It also
examines how the Internet has helped spread jihadist ideology, and how
cyberspace has become a haven for terrorist operatives who no longer have
geographical refuges in countries like Afghanistan," the Times
said.
The National Intelligence Council, the main strategic think
tank for the U.S. intelligence community, is in the early stages of
preparing a new national estimate on Iraq in response to requests from
leading Senate Democrats, including Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts,
intelligence officials said.