Filling The Swamp

The CIA's National Intelligence Council tells us that Bush's attempts to "drain the swamp" and win the "war" on terror have predictably, well, failed:

The core al-Qa’ida membership probably will continue to dwindle, but other groups inspired by al-Qa’ida, regionally based groups, and individuals labeled simply as jihadists—united by a common hatred of moderate regimes and the West—are likely to conduct terrorist attacks.  The al-Qa’ida membership that was distinguished by having trained in Afghanistan will gradually dissipate, to be replaced in part by the dispersion of the experienced survivors of the conflict in Iraq.  We expect that by 2020 al-Qa’ida will have been superceded by similarly inspired but more diffuse Islamic extremist groups, all of which will oppose the spread of many aspects of globalization into traditional Islamic societies.

• Iraq and other possible conflicts in the future could provide recruitment, training grounds, technical skills and language proficiency for a new class of terrorists who are “professionalized” and for whom political violence becomes an end in itself.
• Foreign jihadists—individuals ready to fight anywhere they believe Muslim lands are under attack by what they see as “infidel invaders”—enjoy a growing sense of support from Muslims who are not necessarily supporters of terrorism.

But we all know we shouldn't listen to the CIA, right?

ntodd

[Update: Holden tells us that the WH, surprisingly, doesn't accept the reality of the report:

"The report confirms that we have the right strategy for winning the war on terrorism,'' [WH press secretary Scott McClellan] said.

Asked about the finding that the war had created a breeding ground for terrorists, he said, "That's assuming that terrorists would just be sitting around and doing nothing if we weren't staying on the offensive.''

They sure are taking it quite well.  But it's an ominous sign when even Chief BushCo Apologist Tim Russert says it's bad news.]