Well, it's official: Iraq turns into Afghanistan 2.0 - Terrorists thriving

[Roland99]

U.S. officials: Iraqi insurgents educating Afghan, Pakistani militants
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/14235672.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

A small number of Pakistani and Afghan militants are receiving military training in Iraq; Iraqi fighters have met with Afghan and Pakistani extremists in Pakistan; and militants in Afghanistan increasingly are using homemade bombs, suicide attacks and other tactics honed in Iraq, said U.S. intelligence officials and others who track the issue.

Several Afghan and Pakistani "exchange students" volunteered to join the fight against American and Iraqi forces in Iraq, but were told to return to Afghanistan and Pakistan to train other militants there, two U.S. intelligence officials said. They and other officials spoke only on condition of anonymity because the intelligence is highly classified.

The intelligence suggests that if the trend continues, American forces, already contending with escalating violence in Iraq, could face the same thing in Afghanistan in the coming months, further complicating the Bush administration's plans to withdraw some troops.

"The worst case would be if the terrorists in both places are becoming more connected, and that they either want to take some of the heat off the jihadists in Iraq or that they figure we're stretched too thin in both places, so they're going to try to turn up the heat in both," one U.S. intelligence official said.

Freedom (for terrorists to roam) is on the march!

[acmavm]

1. All the while the Russians are laughing at us because we didn't learn

one damn thing from their attempt to subdue Afganistan. Or the attempts of the British during the 19th century for that matter.

I will always wonder if we might have had a chance if blivet hadn't been so hell-bent on going into Iraq.

[Roland99]

2. I seriously doubt it. This admin has been under the neocon spell.

Diplomacy and the necessity of engaging Muslim nations has been completely absent from US foreign policy.

[Roland99]

3. Kick

[Roland99]

4. Surprised this is getting no discussion. Esp. in light of Buckley's

recent statement and this Brookings Institute study:

http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf