Report: Iraq War Made Terror Worse

[sirio11]

Was really that hard to see this coming 3 years ago?

Report: Iraq War Made Terror Worse

[Felix_Nietzsche]

I don't agree. Before the 2nd Iraq War, terrorist attacks were increasing against the USA.
Before the 2nd Iraq War there were:
1. the African Embassy Bombings,
2. the attack on the USS Cole,
3. the first bombing of the World Trade center, and
4. the second attack on the world trade center on 9/11.
*And this is NOT a comprehensive list!

The trend BEFORE the Iraq war was an increase both in the number and audacity of terrorists attacks against the USA. The analyst that wrote this nonsense decided to ignore this.... The trend al Qaeda terrorism began during Clinton's presidency and increased due to his incompetance...

The are lots of would be terrorists in the middle-east. There main constraint is money.
Now that the USA is in Afghanistan and Iraq, terrorists can travel cheaply to these two countries to attack Americans.

If Bush43 succeeds in creating a free and independent Iraq, then the benefits will revolutionize the middle-east... I don't like our chances in Afghanistan. The Afghan culture has a long history of decadence and barbarity and I think the NATO policy in Afghanistan is highly flawed....

[SLP]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't agree. Before the 2nd Iraq War, terrorist attacks were increasing against the USA.
Before the 2nd Iraq War there were:
1. the African Embassy Bombings,
2. the attack on the USS Cole,
3. the first bombing of the World Trade center, and
4. the second attack on the world trade center on 9/11.
*And this is NOT a comprehensive list!

[/ QUOTE ]

As far as we know, Bin Laden played a major role in all of these. Bin Laden was sent into hiding because of our actions in Afghanistan, not Iraq.

[Copernicus]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I don't agree. Before the 2nd Iraq War, terrorist attacks were increasing against the USA.
Before the 2nd Iraq War there were:
1. the African Embassy Bombings,
2. the attack on the USS Cole,
3. the first bombing of the World Trade center, and
4. the second attack on the world trade center on 9/11.
*And this is NOT a comprehensive list!

[/ QUOTE ]

As far as we know, Bin Laden played a major role in all of these. Bin Laden was sent into hiding because of our actions in Afghanistan, not Iraq.

[/ QUOTE ]

What does it being Afgh. vs Iraq have to do with his post or the topic, which is growth of terrorism worldwide?

[Mickey Brausch]

[ QUOTE ]
If Bush43 succeeds in creating a free and independent Iraq, then the benefits will revolutionize the middle-east. I don't like our chances in Afghanistan. I think the NATO policy in Afghanistan is highly flawed.

[/ QUOTE ] Questions:

1. What do you estimate the probability of having "a free and independent Iraq" (and, I assume also democratic since it was already free and independent during Saddam's reign) within the next five years to be? (My personal estimate? Around 60%.)

2. What would be in your opinion a correct as opposed to the current "flawed NATO policy in Afghanistan" ? (My personal opinion ? History tells me that it is a flawed policy to try and occupy Afghanistan in the first place! Unlike some folks, I have read my History. And Kipling too.)

Mickey Brausch

[kurto]

[ QUOTE ]
If Bush43 succeeds in creating a free and independent Iraq, then the benefits will revolutionize the middle-east.

[/ QUOTE ]

There is no guarantee, btw, that even if the unlikely scenario that we have a free and independent Iraq, that it will revolutionize the Middle East. There's no guarantee, either, that a free and independent Iraq will have any better relations with the West or that we will like them any more...

[Copernicus]

http://online.wsj.com/public/resourc...ni20060926.pdf

[Utah]

Well, the actual document paints a WAY different picture than CBS did and it keeps CBS on its perch as the scummiest news source. CBS simply has zero credibility. What makes it more scummy for CBS is that it didnt have it as its lead story like CNN and Foxs. Opps....caught lying again.

[Mickey Brausch]

[ QUOTE ]
There's no guarantee ... that a free and independent Iraq will have any better relations with the West or that we will like them any more.

[/ QUOTE ]That is correct. Those who hold the opposite view implicitly but clearly assert that the Iraqi people, if allowed to genuinely freely vote, would elect a government which would

- be generally pro-American,
- improve relations with Israel, and
- promote religious freedom and tolerance along with western-democratic civil liberties, instead of islamic-centered legislation.

A tall order, I'd say. Wishful thinking, others would call it.

And one more thing: If Iran goes ahead and eventually arms itself with nuclear weapons, I see a truly "free and democratic" Iraq rushing to copy its neighbor.

Mickey Brausch

[iron81]

Felix, we're not talking about one analyst writing a report:

[ QUOTE ]
The report, the classified National Intelligence Estimate, "says that the Iraq war has made the overall terrorism problem worse," one American intelligence official told The New York Times.
Completed in April, the intelligence estimate reflects the views of 16 different spy agencies within the U.S. government. Instead of weakening Islamic radicalism, the report titled "Trends in Global Terrorism: Implications for the United States," says the jihad ideology has spread worldwide since the Iraq war.

[/ QUOTE ]