Wilmette, Ill. - Congressional Candidate Dan Seals today said the release of key findings of the National Intelligence Estimate offers further proof the invasion and occupation of Iraq has not halted the spread of global terrorism as the Bush administration claims.
"Our ability to kill terrorists is superseded by their ability to recruit them," Seals said. "The war is their chief recruiting tool."
"The NIE's message is sobering. It says that we are losing the war on terrorism and the main reason why is the war in Iraq."
The NIE findings provide the most compelling evidence to date that debunks the Bush administrations's claim that toppling Saddam Hussein's regime has made the world safer, Seals said.
Among the NIE's key findings:
- "The Iraq jihad is shaping a new generation of terrorists leaders and operatives," and perceived success there would inspire more fighter's elsewhere. The Iraq conflict has become "The 'cause celebre' for jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of U.S. involvement in the Muslim world and cultivating supporters for the global jihadists movement."
The NIE, representing the work of 16 intelligence agencies, is the first formal assessment of global trends in terrorism sine the invasion and occupation of Iraq.
Media reports of the NIE surfaced earlier this week, five months after the Bush administration received the report. The administration's refusal to acknowledge the NIE, then insisting on keeping it classified comes amid growing public opinion that the administration's war in Iraq has made Americans less safe.
The U.S. occupation of Iraq has distracted the United States in its fight against global terrorism, Seals said. To better protect the United States, Seals said the 41 recommendations of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission should be implemented, and we should refocus our efforts in Afghanistan.
