Despite the arrest of an Al-Qaida leader in Iraq, the threat to the U.S. is growing
New York. Good news first for George Bush. On Wednesday July 18 2007, US forces said that one of Al-Qaida leaders in Iraq has been arrested. Khaled Abdul-Fattah Dawoud Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, also known as Abu Shahid (photo US Department of Defense), was captured in Mosul on July 4. He is considered to be a close associate of Abu Ayub al-Masri, the Egyptian-born head of al-Qaida in Iraq. According to US forces, Abu Shahid played a detrimental role as a messenger between Osama bin Laden and Ayub al-Masri. This arrest was overshadowed by some bad news for the White House. On Tuesday July 17, 16 US intelligence agencies published a report assessing that Al-Qaida was able to regroup in remote areas of Pakistan. According to National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), the terrorist network of Osama bin Laden remains a potent threat to its American enemy as it is plotting major attacks on the United States. The conclusions of the report compiled by 16 intelligence agencies contradict what the White House has been saying for months. According to the document, the Iraq war did not make the United States more secure. One of the key findings is that the US will “a persistent and evolving terrorist threat over the next three years”. The report says Al-Qaida will step up its efforts to put operatives in America. As a result, intelligence agencies “judge that the United States is currently in a heightened threat environment”. Another finding of the report is that “its association with Al-Qaida Iraq helps al-Qaida to energize the broader Sunni extremist community, raise resources, and to recruit and indoctrinate operatives, including for Homeland attack”. According to the NIE, Al-Qaida might use its Iraqi branch to launch a major attack on the U.S. Last week, some key conclusions were leaked to the Washington Post. Since then, the White House dispatched high-ranking officials to try to limit damage. Administration officials such as John Negroponte, the number two at the State Department, have repeatedly said in the last few days that Al-Qaida is weaker than prior 9/11. George Bush insisted on Tuesday July 17 that Al-Qaida would have been stronger today if the US had not launched wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The president has kept justifying the Iraq war with the Al-Qaida presence there despite the fact that Al-Qaida Iraq was formed after the US-led invasion. Such presidential claims do not seem to convince the large majority of Americans any more. On Tuesday, the White House faced a new offensive by Democratic senators to try to pass a bill ordering troop withdrawals from Iraq. Majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) kept the Senate throughout the night into Wednesday morning to try to advance the Democratic proposal that would have required George Bush to start bringing home troops within 120 days and complete the pullout by April 30, 2008. Democrats failed to get enough votes to cut off debate under Senate rules but announced they would keep fighting to put an end to the unpopular Iraq war. A French version of this story was published on July 19 in Tribune de Genève and 24heures. CommentsYou must be logged in to post a comment. |
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