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George W. Bush and the Fancy Theorists
Last week the press, discreet as always, published a nugget mined from the top secret National Intelligence Estimate. The banner headlines suggested that our intelligence experts believe the war in Iraq to be an impediment in the war on terror because it stimulates al Qaedas recruitment. Democrats pounced. They seemed to believe that they had finally discovered their Holy Grail. At last they had official sanction for the view that fighting in Iraq hurts our cause. Maybe now they could oppose the war without alienating an electorate that rarely votes for poltroons during a war. The excitement didnt last long. George W. Bush shut the party down by declassifying the Key Judgments from the NIE. Now the world knows that the press got the story wrong. The NIE doesnt say that the war in Iraq is an impediment to our war on terror. Its like a palm reading, it doesnt really say anything at all. Heres the relevant bit: The Iraq conflict has become the cause celebre for jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of US involvement in the Muslim world and cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement. Should jihadists leaving Iraq perceive themselves, and be perceived, to have failed, we judge fewer fighters will be inspired to carry on the fight. Posted by: Thesing Unavise4426 2006-09-27 |
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