Bush Loses War Against Al Qaeda

by Steve

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How many times have Bush, Cheney, or their minions told us that Democrats don't understand the enemy we face?

Bush’s own intelligence community is about to drive a stake through his and Cheney’s war on terror. Six years, billions of dollars, and a war of choice have now confirmed that it was all a waste of time, because Al Qaeda has regrouped to a pre-9/11 level, thanks in large part to a renewed base of operations that Bush encouraged Musharraf to withdraw from, and due to a war that crippled our effort against Al Qaeda.

U.S. intelligence analysts have concluded al-Qaida has rebuilt its operating capability to a level not seen since just before the 2001 terrorist attacks, The Associated Press has learned.

[snip]

Counterterrorism analysts produced the document, titled "Al-Qaida better positioned to strike the West." The document pays special heed to the terror group's safe haven in Pakistan and makes a range of observations about the threat posed to the United States and its allies, officials said.

Al-Qaida is "considerably operationally stronger than a year ago" and has "regrouped to an extent not seen since 2001," the official said, paraphrasing the report's conclusions. "They are showing greater and greater ability to plan attacks in Europe and the United States."

The group also has created "the most robust training program since 2001, with an interest in using European operatives," the official quoted the report as saying.

In other words, the war in Iraq has done nothing to stop Al Qaeda. And after billions of dollars, we still don't know any more than we did before.

At the same time, this official said, the report speaks of "significant gaps in intelligence" so U.S. authorities may be ignorant of potential or planned attacks.

John Kringen, who heads the CIA's analysis directorate, echoed the concerns about al-Qaida's resurgence during testimony and conversations with reporters at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Wednesday.

"They seem to be fairly well settled into the safe haven and the ungoverned spaces of Pakistan," Kringen testified. "We see more training. We see more money. We see more communications. We see that activity rising."

It's a safe haven that George W. Bush gave to Al Qaeda twice; once at Tora Bora in 2001, and again last fall. The intelligence community now says that the Waziristan truces and our encouragement of them as well as Iraq are the primary reasons for Al Qaeda's resurgence.

It's time for Congress to take over the war against terrorists and for Democrats to start speaking loudly and often about this adminstration's dereliction of duty and waste of lives and money in losing every war it has fought.