Not only did George Bush not get 'em dead or alive, the leaders of al Qaeda have been expanding its operations. Not only did George Bush not get 'em dead or alive, he's helped spawn -- and train -- a new generation of leaders. While Bush led us in to a war that had nothing to do with September 11th, the actual perpetrators of that attack seem to be the prime beneficiary of that war in Iraq. The NY Times reports:
Much is still not known about the backgrounds of the new Qaeda leaders; some have adopted noms de guerre. Officials and outside analysts said they tend to be in their mid-30s and have years of battlefield experience fighting in places like Afghanistan and Chechnya. They are more diverse than the earlier group of leaders, which was made up largely of battle-hardened Egyptian operatives. American officials said the new cadre includes several Pakistani and North African operatives.So, the new Al Qaeda is adept at fighting the U.S. military because the U.S. military is pinned down in a civil war that we helped start.
Experts say they still see Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia as largely independent of Al Qaeda’s hub in Pakistan but that they believe the fighting in Iraq will produce future Qaeda leaders.
“The jihadis returning from Iraq are far more capable than the mujahedeen who fought the Soviets ever were,” said Robert Richer, who was associate director of operations in 2004 and 2005 for the C.I.A. “They have been fighting the best military in the world, with the best technology and tactics.”
We are going to be suffering the effects of Bush's disastrous war policy for a long, long time.
