Iraq and Terrorists

One of the Big Lies constantly spread by the neocons was that Iraq was affiliated with al Qaeda; Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden were working hand in glove. Nevermind that Hussein’s government was secular and bin Laden thinks all secular governments are evil – facts are just a pain in the butt when you’re gearing up to conquer somebody.

Now that our invasion has killed countless thousands of Iraqi civilians and stirred up a civil war with insurgent groups coming out of the woodwork, we have a textbook example of a self fulfilling prophecy. Moslems from all over the world who hate the West are now forming terrorist training camps in – guess which country. Iraq, which previously had no ties to bin Laden or al Qaeda, is now the world’s foremost training ground for the next generation of “professionalized” terrorists, according to the National Intelligence Council.

According to the NIC chairman, Iraq “is a magnet for international terrorist activity.” The ongoing Iraqi war has joined the list of conflicts – this also includes the Israeli-Palestinian stalemate and Chechnya’s ongoing attempt to break away from Russia – that have strengthened solidarity among radical Islamic groups.

The NIC report says that during the next 15 years, al Qaeda will become more and more diluted as other Islamic extremist groups affiliate themselves with local separatist movements. (This is already happening, but the trend is expected to increase.) This constant morphing and decentralization will make terrorist groups even more difficult to uncover.

The NIC acts as an advisor to the CIA director. Their goal is “to provide policymakers with the best, unvarnished and unbiased information – regardless of whether analytic judgments conform to U.S. policy.”

Uh oh. Hey, careful there, fella. You saw what happened to Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame. Watch your back.