“You know, I’ve heard this theory about, you know, everything was just fine until we arrived <in Iraq>, and that, you know, kind of that uh stir up the hornet’s nest theory. It, it, it just doesn’t hold water as far as I’m concerned.” — President Bush, August 21 (video
here).
Today:
Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Worsens Terror Threat A stark assessment of terrorism trends by American intelligence agencies has found that the American invasion and occupation of Iraq has helped spawn a new generation of Islamic radicalism and that the overall terrorist threat has grown since the Sept. 11 attacks.
The classified National Intelligence Estimate attributes a more direct role to the Iraq war in fueling radicalism than that presented either in recent White House documents or in a report released Wednesday by the House Intelligence Committee, according to several officials in Washington involved in preparing the assessment or who have read the final document.
…An opening section of the report, “Indicators of the Spread of the Global Jihadist Movement,” cites the Iraq war as a reason for the diffusion of jihad ideology.
How’s that theory holding water now, Mr. President?
http://ezraklein.typepad.com/blog/2006/09/reality_kicks_b.htmlThe above comes from a post ("Reality Kicks Bush's Ass,") by "shakes" at Ezra Klein's blog. What strikes me about the video is that it took place well after the NIE was first circulated--apparently widely--as reported in the NYTimes story linked to above <emphasis below added>:
The classified National Intelligence Estimate attributes a more direct role to the Iraq war in fueling radicalism than that presented either in recent White House documents or in a report released Wednesday by the House Intelligence Committee, according to several officials in Washington involved in preparing the assessment or who have read the final document.
The intelligence estimate, completed in April, is the first formal appraisal of global terrorism by United States intelligence agencies since the Iraq war began, and represents a consensus view of the 16 disparate spy services inside government. Titled “Trends in Global Terrorism: Implications for the United States,’’ it asserts that Islamic radicalism, rather than being in retreat, has metastasized and spread across the globe.
An opening section of the report, “Indicators of the Spread of the Global Jihadist Movement,” cites the Iraq war as a reason for the diffusion of jihad ideology.
The report “says that the Iraq war has made the overall terrorism problem worse,” said one American intelligence official.
More than a dozen United States government officials and outside experts were interviewed for this article, and all spoke only on condition of anonymity because they were discussing a classified intelligence document. The officials included employees of several government agencies, and both supporters and critics of the Bush administration. All of those interviewed had either seen the final version of the document or participated in the creation of earlier drafts. These officials discussed some of the document’s general conclusions but not details, which remain highly classified.
Of course we know very well that Bush is a liar. But, as Bush himself might say, I find it "interesting" that as campaign season geared up and the Rove strategy of demonizing Dems for not being butch enough about Iraq was being unwrapped, Bush probably knew very well that his administration's being "butch on Iraq" was apparently a primary cause of the spread of international terrorism since 9/11.
It just makes me loath him more.
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