A new appraisal that Al-Qaeda is back in business fueled an angry Democratic clamor for President George W. Bush to end the war in Iraq and focus on eliminating Osama bin Laden’s resurgent network.
The latest US “national intelligence estimate” (NIE) released Tuesday revived acrimonious arguments over whether Bush has made the United States more or less vulnerable to terrorism.
The administration pushed its line that the United States is “safer but not yet safe” as a result of its actions since the September 11 attacks of 2001, and now is not the time to abandon a new front of the “war on terror” in Iraq.
Adamant that Al-Qaeda wants a foothold in Iraq “to spread their poisonous ideology,” Bush said the group responsible for the 9/11 strikes “would have been a heck of a lot stronger today had we not stayed on the offense.”
The NIE’s “key judgments” on the terrorist threat to the United States concluded that Al-Qaeda is gaining strength in a lawless zone of Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan.
“As a result, we judge the United States currently is in a heightened threat environment,” said the report, the considered view of US spymasters and analysts.
It said Al-Qaeda “has protected or regenerated key elements of its homeland (US) attack capability, including: a safe haven in the Pakistan Federally Administered Tribal Areas, operational lieutenants, and its top leadership.”
Nearly six years on from the 9/11 attacks, which killed roughly 3,000 people, Bush critics demanded to know why their prime architects are still on the run and redoubled calls for an early withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.
“After almost six years, awesome sacrifices by our brave men and women in uniform, and hundreds of billions of dollars spent, we are no safer than we were on 9/11,” Democratic Senator and White House contender Barack Obama said.
“This is a consequence of waging a misguided war in Iraq that should never have been authorized, and failing to seize the opportunity to do lasting harm to the extremist networks that pose a direct threat to our homeland,” he said.
“It is time to act to correct those mistakes, and the first step is to get out of Iraq, because you can’t win a war when you’re on the wrong battlefield.”
The intelligence report maintained that “Al-Qaeda in Iraq” has become “the most visible and capable affiliate” of bin Laden’s network with an intent to attack the United States.
The Iraqi branch helps Al-Qaeda as a whole “to energize the broader Sunni extremist community, raise resources, and to recruit and indoctrinate operatives, including for homeland attacks.”
Former senator John Edwards, another Democrat in the 2008 presidential race, said the NIE was “proof positive” that Bush’s war on terror was nothing more than a “bumper sticker” and Iraq a dangerous diversion.
“This administration has failed America — six years after 9/11, bin Laden is still alive, Al-Qaeda is more powerful now than ever before, and we have fewer allies,” he said.
With a rare all-night session of the Senate Tuesday into Wednesday, Democrats battled anew to force through a plan to get most US combat troops home from Iraq by the end of April.
But despite help from several Republican rebels, they seemed certain to fall short of the 60-vote super-majority in the 100-member chamber needed to thwart Republican blocking tactics.
John Boehner, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives, said the NIE “should strengthen our resolve to protect the American people from a determined enemy bent on destroying our way of life.”
“Our efforts have helped stop terror plots worldwide before they happen, saved American lives, and have made our country safer than on 9/11,” he said.
25 thoughts on “Al-Qaeda comeback angers war critics”
I think.. that anyone with an ounce of intelligence (and uses any of it) knows by now that Bin laden/ Taliban/ Al-Quaeda had NOTHING to do with this Iraq war.
I think.. that if we sent 100% of our troops to Iraq, things would only calm down UNTIL the day after we pulled out, and then they would begin an all out war among themselves. So, I say USA should not be wasting even one more life, one more day or one more dollar in the hopes of getting the Iraqi government set up…it will be unsettled and chaiotic until they’ve settled it themselves, wether we like it or not.
I think…that the USA is very likely to recieve another attack on our shores, and that this war has done nothing to make us safer…however we have benefitted (so far) from the security measures that have been put into place since 9-11. The fact that we are hated by the muslim extremists has probably only increased due to this war, and they will eventually get to us by one means or another.
I think…George W. Bush is fully responsible for the whole damned mess and I totally agree with what Truth posted. (1st post to this article)
Look folks we need their oil to continue this massive expansion of suburbia now called x-urbia which is 20 or 30 mile further down the road. Iraq has the second largest oil reserve in the world.
Hello!!!! are we listing, this is nothing but a scam thats not going to work. Bush new, Cheney new, many in our gov. new about (911) before, NOT AFTER those buildings came down, professionally blown down, just watch the dam clips, an idiot could figure it out.
God!! the clueless shits in this nation.
Yo Willie T. …
I suspect you are an agent provocateur because your knowledge concerning OBL’s background is sorely lacking, so much so, that you are more of an irritant than anything else to CHB readers. I highly suggest you bury you nose in the link material I’m going to provide. Read it, then let it percolate into your consciousness as to why people who take the time dig up the truth about the Bushistas and their shady dealings, more than simply dislike them.
https://www.hermes-press.com/BushSaud.htm
You’ll find out how OBL fits into overall order of things and that his prime hatred is for the Saudi rulers, then their association with the U.S. The Saudi family has 850 billion dollars invested in American infrastructure. OBL feels that between the Saudi’s ruling family and the U.S. leadership, this axis has being facilitating the stealing oil on the cheap for years from the Saudi people and arabs in general. OBL feels/felt (if deceased) that oil should be minimally $150 bbl and it’s surely headed that way. I’ve always been amazed myself as to why Americans feel they have some “divine right” to drive around on cheap fuel. Gasoline is long overdue to be priced at $5 per gallon and rest assured it’s coming soon to America. That will surely dampen the trips to “Sprawlmart” and the local strip malls…:))
Carl Nemo **==
vietnam vet
Willie T. You have a right to say what you think in this country, and I have defended that right in Korea and Vietnam, but you are wrong when you accuse other people of being the worst of this country because their views are different from yours. That’s what make this country so great. I don’t think any of these people are bush haters, but they hate what he is doing to this beautiful country.
Peace and Love
Jesse
Okay Willie. Why did OBL declare war on America? Could it be that Bush 41 left troops on holy Muslim land? I’ve read easily 6 books on this subject and we simply helped win a victory for Kuwait but refused to get out of the area and all one had to do was read the GOP platform in 1992 where it was all explained that the Middle East must be made into various Democracies and it is would be the agenda of the neoconservatives backing Bush 41 for reelection.
Many of our journalists wrote about this silly action of the Republican National Committee to keep control over the oil in that area. “Imperial Hubris” was written by a man who had spent years in Afghanistan as part of the CIA and exposed it. “Crossing the Rubicon” was another book written about the problem of peak oil in Iraq that certainly pointed to a potential war in Iraq at the time.
I must explain that until 1992 I was a devoted Republican but what I read at the time of that election turned me of of the GOP in general and Bush 41 in particular. I don’t know how well read you are but hundreds of books have been written about the development of the American Empire working to take over the resources found anywhere. We must have it all and we simply pissed all over the Bin Laden family until it was exposed that they and the Bush family were all invested in The Carlyle Group collecting millions out of the oil fields in Iraq.
Line up the dots Willie you will find they do not line up under Bush 43’s actions. OBL attacked us during Clinton’s term and little was made of it.
There is a lot of information pointing to the fact that Bush, Cheney and Rumsefld knew about 9/11 months before the attack.
Let me straighten you a little here. CHB is not a partisan site. I’ve been around here longer than anyone except for Doug Thompson. Most of us are intelligent and not above reading a lot of articles and books giving both sides of many points of view.
Our enemy has always been OBL and his Taliban forces who attacked us. That was not good enough for President Bush who wanted Saddam’s head on a platter. We’ve all read the white house reports and found them flawed with lies and manipulations forcing a war in Iraq.
One of these days someone in D.C. will crack with the weight of the truth and we will know exactly who started the war in Iraq and why OBL is still alive. Many journalists know information about Bush’s plans and are holding back to save our troops who are illegally in Iraq. Before you take on these folks here, I recommend you do some reading and use a timeline along with your reading.
The next move will be for America to take on Tehran. With the Iraqi war soon to be stopped, Cheney will insist that Iran be the next victim of American aggression and it will bring nothing less than nuke to America. If you have ever read about the Roman Empire you should be able to predict the next move. There is a strain of madness running through the leaders of both nations.
Stick with us and learn a few things about politics in America.
Seal, you have it right, absolutely! If we clean out the nests of terrorists in Afghanistan, we can breathe a bit easier. By eliminating Osama, we break their bank account.
The obvious conclusion anyone reading these comments would reach — most of you are a bunch of Bush haters. You most likely began your hate when he “stole” the election.
I made no meniton of supporting Bush’s decision to send the troops into Iraq — quite the contrary. So the second conclusion most would reach — you can’t read.
Spew your venom all you want, but it doesn’t change the FACT that Osama bin Laden declared war on us. This is his war and we need to become a united country against a determined and relentless enemy.
People like you represent the worst our country has to offer. People who care more about keeping us a people divided than finding a way to bring about unity in our country.
We have to end this worthless, sickening, endless spewing of hate speech. Surely America deserves better than this. Surely each of you can conduct yourselves in a more dignified manner.
Willie T
I think Willie T has some valid points but I don’t think bin Laden would have ever organized an attack on us had Bush not been elected. bin Laden’s attack had as much to do with his business dealings with the Bush family as it did to our ‘way of life’
Rich man’s fight, poor man’s war, this was never so obvious as it was on 9/11. Why people still think Bush has clean hands in that event is beyond me.
Donnat
“The terrorist network Al-Qaida will likely leverage its contacts and capabilities in Iraq to mount an attack on U.S. soil, according to a new National Intelligence Estimate on threats to the United States.”… extracted from a recent Yahoo in the News article.
Say what…?! If anything, they want our butts out of the Middle East, so strategically speaking it’s the most illogical and counterproductive move for them for them to pull this off with us being so close to extricating ourselves from the region. They surely don’t want the American people to flip into their Bushco inflamed “scared bunny rabbit” mode again and have us camp in their region forever. They want us out so they can unite into an pan Arabic/Persian Islamic monolith. So the sooner we’re gone from the region the better for them in theory.
The old saying goes, follow the money, and the only entities on earth that want us in the Middle East until the 12th of never is Israel, the M.I. Complex, the “oil patch”, the NWO crowd and the estimated 20,000 camp-following contractors that are benefiting from this conflagration based on “cooked intelligence” courtesy of the Feith-Cheney-Wolfowitz pipeline. If there is some major attack on this country this summer or before Bushco exits the Whitehouse, if ever, rest assured Israel, the CIA, DIA, and MIC operatives will have some hand in it, even if it’s simply witnessing the scenario unfold while having full knowledge as to what’s coming down. The truth of the matter is America is dead broke with 9 trillion dollars of Public debt and projected to be 12 trillion by 2012, not including the estimated 30-40 trillion dollar shortfall for Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security obligations. We can’t afford to wage adventuristic wars that only benefit the few at the expense of the many!
They pulled this same crap with the Oklahoma City, Murrah Building bombing under the Clintonistas. The BATF had both controlled and monitored McVey and Nichols during the entire period then let those two dirt-bags pull off their act of domestic terror. Ruby Ridge, Waco, Oklahoma City, and even 9/11 all had a purpose that serves the NWO’s draconian plans for the U.S. The purpose was to test the American public’s response and resolve to the government using their own form of enforcement terror on American citizenry. Bush is chafing at the bit to declare martial law so he and his minions will be entrenched until the 12th of never in the Whitehouse. Then they can turn America into an Orwellian AmeriKa; i.e, a fear-based paradigm with a Big Brother/Sister style of government pitching their endless screed concerning the need to wage wars anywhere and everywhere until the end of time while the people cringe in fear afraid to open their mouths. There will be nothing for “we the people” except a Chinese-style bullet to the base of the brain in the event the “citizen” becomes problematic, either politically, productively or even medically speaking!
To be forewarned is to be forearmed.
Carl Nemo **==
p.s. It’s also not coincidental that the NIE (National Intelligence Estimate) extract was made public while the Senate debates our extrication from the region. It’s all about money, money, money for the MIC forever…!
I’m curious…
If George H. W. Bush and Osama Bin Laden’s father weren’t such good friends and business partners, would Osama still be alive today?
Charlie Couser
So let’s see what’s going wrong here: First the battle on behalf of the illegal invaders of America is given a temporary set-back for the administration because of the anger of the American public (read: voter); so F.O.B.G. (Friends of Boy George) want to bring back the “Fairness” Doctrine to shut up folks like Lou Dobbs and the rest of us – because we incite real, thinking Americans to become pro-active once again – and of course – B.G.’s war isn’t going so well – and public opinion doesn’t go along with him anymore – so – UP POPS THE DEVIL – our old friend Al Ki Ada and their leader – Osama Bin Layed Yet, who most of the world thought had died when his liver (or some other organ) gave out a couple of years back.
Maybe it was his ‘gut’ – OOPS – no, that was Chertoff’s gut.
Of course, the borders have remained wide open for these past six years since the dastardly deed – and the FBI’s new report says that bunches of Iraqi’s are paying Mexican Coyote’s up to $25,000.00 to sneak into Estados YouNeedUs – for what purpose we couldn’t even fathom – but B.G. – you can bet your sweet rumpazz that while you’re having good ol’ ‘merican boys and girls dyin’ fer your ego and arrogance – while they’re fighting to keep the terrorists “over there” – you’ve allowed them to sneak right up our backside.
The Terrorists are here – and their names aren’t necessarily Al or Osama – although you never know?
Seems that the Bush crime syndicate and the central banks they represent don’t understand cause and effect.
Islamic law and the Muslim religion in general are the peoples response to a corrupt Judea Christian system.
Here is a thought… Clean up the corruption, ensure equality under the law and provide the basic services that we more than pay for with our taxes and hard work such as free education and health care for all. Screw the insurance companies, they produce nothing.
Why does America want to attack every nation that provides free education, health care and share the nations oil resources with their citizens??? Da! It makes our government stand out for the crooks they are. Even Cuba and Venezuela kick our butts bad on that one.
The rich get what they resist. The harder our corrupt government pushes, the worse it gets for them. In the past, they would trick us into killing each other but I don’t see that working anymore. We all got a free education through the internet thanks to people like Gore.
Basing an economy on the military industrial complex was a means to an end from the beginning.
How do you create something by destroying something? You don’t, it only lowers the standard of living for everybody but the merchants of death. War crimes trials anybody? I am ready.
Today, Pakistan said the NIE report is a complete fabrication. that the NIE never shared any of the information or intelligence with them. They challenged the NIE to produce the intelligence and evidence they relied on to come to their conclusions. Also they blew the hell out of our claim tha this particular area of Pakistan has been declared a “lawless zone.” Someone has the military believing it because that is what they have told me, so I believed it.
This could get really interesting. The Democrats should jump all over it. But they may ignore it because they are having so much fun using the false report. Now is when we find out if the democrats are truly wanting to expose the administration as “cooking” more evidence, or if they are only interested in winning more seats in congress. We know the press won’t play it they way they should unless the dems make it news they have to report.
Right now, I would tend to believe the Pakastanis because we have shared none of the information with them. Pakistan is supposed to an ally. There would be only one reason they would not be copied. There is none.
Nice Carl real dam nice, hopefully this guy can comprehend your comment of which I seriously doubt.
Dam Sandra I think I just fell in “love” with you. What a beautiful rant and (Sandra) your so right!!!!!
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