And before it was a peaceful free society with no crimes, no torture and
with everyone living in peace side by side.
Naughty Bush!

"Harry Hope" <rivrvu@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:ou8bd0ppts7kjtmekqtc46cok3bktcbigp@4ax.com...

From The New York Times, 6/20/04:

FIGHTERS POUR IN

Iraq Is a Hub for Terrorism, However You Define It

By EDWARD WONG

BAGHDAD, Iraq --

A superpower invaded an impoverished Islamic nation.

Guerrillas responded with AK-47's and rocket-propelled grenades.

A generation of warriors was born, eager to wage jihad.

That was Afghanistan in the 1980's.

It became a breeding ground for terrorists - most infamously Osama bin
Laden - who exported their deadly skills throughout the world.

In Iraq, some of the same conditions that nurtured terrorism in the
mountains of Afghanistan have emerged in the power vacuum created by
the American occupation, Iraqis and terrorism experts say.

"Unfortunately Iraq has become a cause célèbre for radical jihadists
the way that Afghanistan did a decade and a half ago," said Bruce
Hoffman, a terrorism analyst at the RAND Corporation.

"You've got a lot of the same conditions that allowed Afghanistan to
become a hub for terrorists."

Those include porous borders, swaths of lawless land and regions of
the country harboring well-armed groups that are neither part of the
government nor under its control, Mr. Hoffman said.

He defined terrorists in terms of tactics - using suicide car bombs
rather than conventional weapons, for example.

Since the civil war in Lebanon, the line between terrorism and
insurgency has blurred, he said, with Iraq being a perfect example.

There has been an average of one car bomb a day this month.

More than 100 civilians have been killed.

Assassinations of Iraqi government officials and sabotage of crucial
sites like oil pipelines are on the rise.

American and Iraqi forces seem unable to prevent the carnage, fueling
hatred of the occupation among the population.

Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, a spokesman for the occupation forces, said
that reconstruction work like opening health clinics and renovating
schools had brightened the lives of Iraqis.

But "are we satisfied with the level of instability in this country
right now?" he said.

"Absolutely not."

Under Saddam Hussein, Iraq was subjected to a reign of terror, but
terrorism did not exist here in the manner it does now.

An independent commission in Washington investigating the attacks of
Sept. 11 reported last week that there was no evidence of a working
relationship between Mr. Hussein and Al Qaeda, as the Bush
administration had said in pressing its case for war.

The failure now to control borders has allowed foreign fighters to
enter Iraq.

Unguarded overland crossings exist between Iraq and its neighbors
Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia, each of which has its share of radical
Islamic groups.

Falah al-Naqib, the new Iraqi interior minister, said the suicide car
bombs were a sign that foreign fighters had infiltrated Iraq, and that
"some parties and countries want to demolish this country."

He said Iraqis do not use such tactics.

And he added that he "won't hesitate" to declare martial law if more
deadly bombings take place.

Ahmed Hashim, a professor at the United States Naval War College who
studies the Sunni insurgency in Iraq, also attributed much of the
violence to the porous borders and the fact that the American presence
has become a magnet for jihadists.

"I think terrorism has come to Iraq as a result of the war," he said.

"The country has unpatrolled and open borders, so all kinds of
extremists who want to fight America have an excellent playing field
to do so now."

A senior American military official wrote in an e-mail message that
the fighters enter through old smuggling routes that follow tribal
connections.

These are like the routes used by mujahedeen to enter Afghanistan.

"The U.S. military continues to see small numbers of foreign fighters
coming through the porous borders of Syria and Saudi Arabia," the
official wrote.

"Financial support continues to come from Saudi Arabia through various
financiers to terrorist networks and through Syria via couriers."

Inside Iraq, these forces find fertile ground.

By deciding that Baath Party members could not participate in the
rebuilding of Iraq, the Americans essentially dismantled much of the
state without installing a suitable replacement. L. Paul Bremer III,
the top civilian administrator here, disbanded the Iraqi Army, leaving
behind a pool of disgruntled men trained in killing.

The new American-trained Iraqi security forces can often be
ineffective, as demonstrated by the mass defections during the
uprising in April.

Just last Monday, Baghdad policemen stood by as Iraqis danced atop the
charred vehicles of a convoy carrying foreign contractors that had
been hit by a suicide car bomb.

Nadhim A. al-Jassour, a professor of international relations at the
University of Baghdad, said that the American evisceration of the
Iraqi state had taught Iraqis to disrespect the government,
perpetuating the lawlessness.

"If you beat a father in front of his children, do you think the
children will respect the father?" Professor Jassour said.

"That's an insult. At the same time, you ask the father to carry out
duties in his house."

The Sunni-dominated city of Falluja, 35 miles west of Baghdad, has
become a safe haven for terrorists and insurgents.

In late April, marines turned over control of the city to a militia
composed partly of guerrillas.

Since then, Falluja has become a mini-Islamist state, with all manner
of anti-American fighters roaming the town.

While Iraq is not run by warlords, as Afghanistan has been, armed
groups exist that do not answer to the government.

One of the largest is the Mahdi Army, led by Shiite cleric Moktada
al-Sadr, who rallied a revolt against the occupation in April.

Though Mr. Sadr called last week for his fighters to leave the holy
cities of Najaf and Kufa, he did not commit to disbanding the militia.

A recent poll ordered by the Coalition Provisional Authority showed
that a majority of Iraqis look up to Mr. Sadr.

Last Sunday, he said through a spokesman that he wanted to start a
political party.

As the United States occupation approaches its official end on June
30, many Iraqis say that the future will be defined by the legacy the
Americans are leaving the interim government - the birth of terrorist
and insurgent groups and the struggle to control them.

___________________________________________________________

Iraq has become a Bush-created disaster. Is this man folks say is
doing a great job for his handling of terrorism and Iraq?
Very strange.

Harry