Sobering intelligence report undercuts Bush's story line (USAToday OP-ED)

[rodeodance]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20070719/cm_usatoday/ourviewonthewaronterrorsoberingintelligencereportundercutsbushsstoryline;_ylt=AktkPhfaiQLNqvzJrFTqGNbMWM0F

Our view on the war on terror: Sobering intelligence report undercuts Bush's story line

Thu Jul 19, 12:22 AM ET

This week, the Bush administration issued what amounts to a status report on the war on terror it launched almost six years ago in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. The report came in the form of a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), which distills the best analysis of 16 intelligence agencies about the battle against Islamic extremism.


The document itself — a two-page summary of a wider, still-classified report — isn't particularly new or surprising. Its findings reflect trends that are visible in daily news reports. What's striking, though, is the way its story line diverges from the standard White House portrayal of the war on terror, which casts Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network as on the run and the Iraq war as the primary front.

The intelligence agencies say al-Qaeda has reconstituted its central organization, putting the United States in a "heightened threat environment." Al-Qaeda's leaders have established a new haven in remote, tribal areas of northwestern Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the war in Iraq has spawned a new al-Qaeda franchise there, which has helped energize Islamic extremists and helped with recruitment and funding, the report says. And al-Qaeda remains intent on finding ways to mount a spectacular attack in the USA. The only hopeful news is that American Muslims have not become as radicalized as Muslims in Europe.........

UsaToday--whow---good editorial

[liberal N proud]

1. Time for a mix up at the NIE

The bu$h regime will need to get cronies in to the agency that are more friendly to the regime