Sunday, September 24, 2006
U.S. intelligence report - terror threat worse since Iraq
Security
A previously classified U.S. intelligence report which has been released claims that Islamic fundmentalism has increased and spread since the war on Iraq. Titled "Trends in Global Terrorism: Implications for the United States," the intelligence estimate is the first formal appraisal of global terrorism by US intelligence agencies since the Iraq war began and represents a consensus view of the 16 different spy services inside the government, The New York Times said citing unnamed officials who have read the report. Analysts began working on the estimate in 2004, which was finalised in April 2006, The Times said.
Bush, in contradiction, has outlined successes in the US war on terror, and argued that Iraq was key to defeating terrorists around the world in a series of recent speeches to mark the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
It is unclear whether the final draft of the intelligence estimate criticises specific government policies, The Times pointed out, but intelligence officials involved in preparing the document said its conclusions were not softened or massaged for political purposes. Meanwhile, The Washington Post noted that although intelligence officials agree that the United States has seriously damaged Al-Qaeda and disrupted its ability to plan and direct major operations, radical Islamic networks have spread and decentralised.
Many of the new cells, the estimate concludes, have no connection to any central structure and arose independently, The Post said. They communicate only among themselves and derive their inspiration, ideology and tactics from the more than 5,000 radical Islamic websites, according to The Post report. They spread the message that the Iraq war is a Western attempt to conquer Islam by first occupying Iraq and establishing a permanent presence in the Middle East.
Many of the new cells, the estimate concludes, have no connection to any central structure and arose independently, The Post said. They communicate only among themselves and derive their inspiration, ideology and tactics from the more than 5,000 radical Islamic websites, according to The Post report. They spread the message that the Iraq war is a Western attempt to conquer Islam by first occupying Iraq and establishing a permanent presence in the Middle East.
