US officials say Iraq is a training ground for international terrorists

[Rose Siding]

So much for fighting them "there". This happened on Bush's watch.
On "Smoke 'em out, bring it on, mission accomplished, tough on terror" *Republican* Bush's watch.

U.S. officials: Iraqi insurgents educating Afghan, Pakistani militants
By Jonathan S. Landay and John Walcott
Knight Ridder Newspapers

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.
....
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.
...
The U.S. intelligence officials said the relatively small number of Afghan and Pakistani militants going to Iraq were receiving a professional military education from foreign terrorists and Iraqis tied to al-Qaida, then returning home to train other fighters.

And here's another one for the irony file. Per usual, the US pressed Pakistan's President/General to "do more"-

In response...Pakistan quietly has sought American assistance to seal parts of the 1,500-mile border of massive mountains and plunging valleys with a fence and minefields, an idea that one U.S. official called "absolutely idiotic."

[Kerrytravelers]

1. Sure is. Our neocons are getting a lot of training on how to destroy

nations and open the gates for civil wars. Congrautlations Neocons.


Go USA!!!

[Betsy Ross]

2. Yup. And we are doing the training. n/t

[MasonJar]

3. And guess who is to blame! Women with no rights, with dead

husbands and dead children should leave the country. We should take them in since we are culpable. These women had rights under Saddaam; now we have a Muslim law based government there which is Stoneage mentality.

[bigtree]

4. they cite any contact as training

any exchange of info

this is the same bunch that said Saddam had WMDs

[Rose Siding]

5. That's a good point

And it's wise to be skeptical when the source isn't specifically attibuted. However, I do have more confidence in Knight Ridder's reporting than, say, the WP or the NYT.

[GeorgeGist]

6. I guess Bush is just a man ahead of his time.

He knew it before it happened.

[madrchsod]

7. why don`t they mention

blackwell and the other mercenaries that we are training? where are these guys going to find work next? why here in the good old usa.