9.28.2006
Bush Reveals Secret War Report (SFGate.com)
Edward Epstein, Chronicle Washington Bureau
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
(09-27) 04:00 PDT Washington -- An intelligence report ordered declassified Tuesday by President Bush offers a sober assessment of the spread of Islamic terrorism, finding that the war in Iraq is "cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement.''
In ordering the release of sections of a secret national intelligence estimate prepared last April, Bush was reacting to an election-year leak that threatened to undercut his claims about the war in Iraq.
Bush said the leaks this weekend of portions of the document had mischaracterized the report prepared by analysts from 16 intelligence agencies. But critics of the war said the report made their case that the war in Iraq has distracted the United States from the real war against terrorism.
While only a few paragraphs in the released "key judgments'' section of the report entitled "Trends in Global Terrorism: Implications for the United States'' deal directly with Iraq, they do mirror reports in newspapers Sunday.
"We assess that the Iraqi jihad is shaping a new generation of terrorist leaders and operatives; perceived jihadist success there would inspire more fighters to continue the struggle elsewhere," read the declassified section of the intelligence report released Tuesday.
(More ... BUSH REVEALS SECRET WAR REPORT / In papers declassified in response to leak, spy agencies see Iraq conflict fueling jihad) ¶ 20:31
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
(09-27) 04:00 PDT Washington -- An intelligence report ordered declassified Tuesday by President Bush offers a sober assessment of the spread of Islamic terrorism, finding that the war in Iraq is "cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement.''
In ordering the release of sections of a secret national intelligence estimate prepared last April, Bush was reacting to an election-year leak that threatened to undercut his claims about the war in Iraq.
Bush said the leaks this weekend of portions of the document had mischaracterized the report prepared by analysts from 16 intelligence agencies. But critics of the war said the report made their case that the war in Iraq has distracted the United States from the real war against terrorism.
While only a few paragraphs in the released "key judgments'' section of the report entitled "Trends in Global Terrorism: Implications for the United States'' deal directly with Iraq, they do mirror reports in newspapers Sunday.
"We assess that the Iraqi jihad is shaping a new generation of terrorist leaders and operatives; perceived jihadist success there would inspire more fighters to continue the struggle elsewhere," read the declassified section of the intelligence report released Tuesday.
(More ... BUSH REVEALS SECRET WAR REPORT / In papers declassified in response to leak, spy agencies see Iraq conflict fueling jihad) ¶ 20:31
