US safer despite Iraq terror : US Intelligence chief
By George Dave,WNS US Bureau Chief
WASHINGTON - US intelligence czar John Negroponte admitted the Iraq war was shaping a new generation of terrorists, but denied claims that a secret report said America was in more peril than in 2001.
Negroponte stepped into the furore over a leaked intelligence estimate which ignited a new row over President George W. Bush's claims ahead of November's congressional elections that the Iraq war has made the United States safer. "The Iraq jihad is shaping a new generation of terrorist leaders and operatives," Negroponte said, using a previously scheduled dinner speech at the Woodrow Wilson Center to discuss the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE). "However, should jihadists leaving Iraq perceive themselves, and be perceived, to have failed, fewer fighters will be inspired to carry on the fight," Negroponte, the Director of National Intelligence, said. "These stories left the incorrect impression that this NIE dealt principally with the relationship between Iraq and international terrorism," he said.
The New York Times Sunday quoted an official familiar with the report, entitled Trends in Global Terrorism: Implications for the United States, as saying that "the Iraq war has made the overall terrorism problem worse." But Negroponte argued the report did not say the threat to the United States had increased. "We are certainly more vigilant, we are better prepared, in that sense I think we can safely say that we are safer. "The threat to the homeland itself has if anything been reduced since 9/11."
posted by wnsworld @ 11:03 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home