Well, Bush got his wish. He hoped would-be terrorists would come to Iraq and now the New York Times reports a new CIA study says that Iraq is becoming a breeding ground for terrorists. Unfortunately, instead of standing around and waiting politley to be killed, these jihadists are going to take the skills they've learned so effectively in Iraq and spread it around the world.
The assessment had argued that Iraq, since the American invasion of 2003, had in many ways assumed the role played by Afghanistan during the rise of Al Qaeda during the 1980's and 1990's, as a magnet and a proving ground for Islamic extremists from Saudi Arabia and other Islamic countries.The officials said the report spelled out how the urban nature of the war in Iraq was helping combatants learn how to carry out assassinations, kidnappings, car bombings and other kinds of attacks that were never a staple of the fighting in Afghanistan during the anti-Soviet campaigns of the 1980's. It was during that conflict, primarily rural and conventional, that the United States provided arms to Osama bin Laden and other militants, who later formed Al Qaeda....
The officials said Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other countries would soon have to contend with militants who leave Iraq equipped with considerable experience and training.
As for how many of the insurgents are foreigners, it seems to me like every day we get a new answer. About a week ago, top military people in Iraq were admitting that early on they saw a big percentage of foreigners, but now the insurgency was dominated by Iraqis (ie. Sunnis). Then a few days later someone else argues the exact opposite. Another New York Times story says the insurgency is now facing a lot of infighting with locals tired of the fanatical foreigners.
Yeah, right, the locals are dying to lay down their arms but keep the insurgency going so they can kill Saudis. Mixed into the story is this detail: during certain raids, Marines report killing 40 insurgents, at least three of them foreigners. That would mean the insurgency was about 92% Iraqi."There is a rift," said the official, who requested anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the talks he had held. "I'm certain that the nationalist Iraqi part of the insurgency is very much fed up with the Jihadists grabbing the headlines and carrying out the sort of violence that they don't want against innocent civilians."
The nationalist insurgent groups, "are giving a lot of signals implying that there should be a settlement with the Americans," while the Jihadists have a purely ideological agenda, he added.
