Published: Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Bush counters report on Iraq
The president denounced a leak on a report that says the war boosted terrorism.
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
WASHINGTON — President Bush attempted Tuesday to blunt criticism that the war in Iraq has emboldened a new generation of terrorists, ordering the release of a select summary of a classified National Intelligence Estimate concluding that U.S.-led counter-terrorism efforts have "seriously damaged" the leadership of al-Qaida and disrupted its operations.
At the same time, a carefully screened summary of the NIE concludes that a holy war in Iraq is "shaping a new generation of terrorist leaders and operatives." It reports that the conflict has become "the 'cause celebre' for jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of U.S. involvement in the Muslim world and cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement."
While reports of a small portion of the NIE revealed by weekend newspapers focused on the war in Iraq serving as a recruiting and breeding ground for Islamic radicals, the president maintained that the assessment released Tuesday supports his contention that the U.S. and its allies have succeeded in weakening terrorist networks, dispersing their operatives and undermining their plans.
Support for opposition
Nonetheless, the intelligence community's assessment that the war in Iraq has spawned new terrorism and inflamed anti-U.S. sentiment in the Muslim world served to buttress opposition to the war in Congress as the critical Nov. 7 elections approach.
The NIE is a consensus report of 16 government intelligence agencies. Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte released a select four-page summary after screening it for sensitive intelligence, though the White House had described the still-classified summary of the report's "key judgments" as a nine-page document.
The report's most alarming finding — that the war in Iraq has generated new terrorism — serves as a powerful challenge to the president's insistence that removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq has made the world safer. This is the argument Bush has embraced for the U.S.-led invasion since pre-war intelligence about suspected weapons of mass destruction in Iraq proved to be wrong.
"Some people have, you know, guessed what's in the report and have concluded that going into Iraq was a mistake," Bush said during a White House press conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. "I strongly disagree. I think it's naive.
"To suggest that, if we weren't in Iraq, we would see a rosier scenario with fewer extremists joining the radical movement requires us to ignore 20 years of experience," Bush said. He cited a series of terrorist attacks that occurred before the invasion of Iraq, including both the 1993 and Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center in New York.
Denounced leak
Bush angrily denounced whoever revealed the report's findings before he decided to declassify a summary of it.
"You know, what's interesting about the NIE. ... It was an intelligence report done last April," Bush told reporters in the East Room. "And here we are, coming down the stretch of an election campaign, and it's on the front page of your newspaper. Isn't that interesting? Somebody's taken it upon themselves to leak classified information for political purposes."
The White House complained that news reports focused on one paragraph taken "wildly out of context" from a nine-page summary of the NIE known as the "key judgments."
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
The president denounced a leak on a report that says the war boosted terrorism.
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
WASHINGTON — President Bush attempted Tuesday to blunt criticism that the war in Iraq has emboldened a new generation of terrorists, ordering the release of a select summary of a classified National Intelligence Estimate concluding that U.S.-led counter-terrorism efforts have "seriously damaged" the leadership of al-Qaida and disrupted its operations.
At the same time, a carefully screened summary of the NIE concludes that a holy war in Iraq is "shaping a new generation of terrorist leaders and operatives." It reports that the conflict has become "the 'cause celebre' for jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of U.S. involvement in the Muslim world and cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement."
While reports of a small portion of the NIE revealed by weekend newspapers focused on the war in Iraq serving as a recruiting and breeding ground for Islamic radicals, the president maintained that the assessment released Tuesday supports his contention that the U.S. and its allies have succeeded in weakening terrorist networks, dispersing their operatives and undermining their plans.
Support for opposition
Nonetheless, the intelligence community's assessment that the war in Iraq has spawned new terrorism and inflamed anti-U.S. sentiment in the Muslim world served to buttress opposition to the war in Congress as the critical Nov. 7 elections approach.
The NIE is a consensus report of 16 government intelligence agencies. Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte released a select four-page summary after screening it for sensitive intelligence, though the White House had described the still-classified summary of the report's "key judgments" as a nine-page document.
The report's most alarming finding — that the war in Iraq has generated new terrorism — serves as a powerful challenge to the president's insistence that removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq has made the world safer. This is the argument Bush has embraced for the U.S.-led invasion since pre-war intelligence about suspected weapons of mass destruction in Iraq proved to be wrong.
"Some people have, you know, guessed what's in the report and have concluded that going into Iraq was a mistake," Bush said during a White House press conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. "I strongly disagree. I think it's naive.
"To suggest that, if we weren't in Iraq, we would see a rosier scenario with fewer extremists joining the radical movement requires us to ignore 20 years of experience," Bush said. He cited a series of terrorist attacks that occurred before the invasion of Iraq, including both the 1993 and Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center in New York.
Denounced leak
Bush angrily denounced whoever revealed the report's findings before he decided to declassify a summary of it.
"You know, what's interesting about the NIE. ... It was an intelligence report done last April," Bush told reporters in the East Room. "And here we are, coming down the stretch of an election campaign, and it's on the front page of your newspaper. Isn't that interesting? Somebody's taken it upon themselves to leak classified information for political purposes."
The White House complained that news reports focused on one paragraph taken "wildly out of context" from a nine-page summary of the NIE known as the "key judgments."
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
President Bush attempted Tuesday to blunt criticism that the war in Iraq has emboldened a new generation of terrorists,...
More Stories from Wed, Sep 27, 2006
