Iraq war a boon to al-Qaeda. (Insider Report).

In our May 19th analysis of the victory in Iraq, THE NEW AMERICAN posed the following rhetorical question: "Given that the military conquest of Iraq increased the terrorist danger to Americans, how can it be viewed as a victory in the 'war on terrorism' ?"

The conclusion that terrorist danger to Americans had increased was based on the State Department's April 21st warning to Americans overseas that the end of the Iraq war "may increase the potential threat to U.S. citizens and interests abroad including by terrorist groups...." This warning was validated when al-Qaeda terrorists carried off multiple bombings in Saudi Arabia on May 13th and five more bombings in Morocco on May 16th -- killing at least 75 people.

Al-Qaeda's resurgence prompted Jonathan Stevenson, senior fellow for counter-terrorism at London's International Institute for Strategic Studies, to conclude that the Iraq war "clearly increased the terrorist impulse," reported the May 20th Toronto Star. "The political masters in the U.S. and Europe underestimated the extent to which bin Laden would use the war in Iraq as a propaganda weapon to rejuvenate the movement and attract more funds," observed Paul Wilkinson, head of the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at Scotland's St. Andrew's University. "As far as the war against al-Qaeda goes, [the Iraq war] possibly has been counterproductive. We face turbulent times ahead."