Sept. 24, 2006
Report: Iraq War Made Terror 'Worse'
Terrorism Has Spread Since U.S. Invasion, National Intelligence Estimate Finds
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Deadly Attack In Baghdad
A Sunni bomb attack claimed the lives of at least 37 Shiites in Baghdad, marking a bloody start to the first day of Ramadan. Lara Logan has more details.
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The Detainee Agreement
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., discusses the detainee agreement and the troop levels in Iraq.
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Rice: Iraq Will Take Time
In an interview with Katie Couric, Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice says ending the violence in Iraq will take time. You can see the full length interview Sunday on "60 Minutes."
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(AP / CBS)
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U.S. military helicopters hover above the site where a car bomb exploded in Baghdad Sept. 24, 2006. Six people, including four policemen, were killed in a car bomb attack against their patrol near the capital's main morgue. (AFP/Getty Images)
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Iraqis gather at the site where a car bomb exploded in Baghdad 24 September 2006. A civilian was killed and 14 others wounded, including four policemen when a car bomb blew up in central Baghdad's Karrada district. (AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)
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Iraqi civilians inspect the site of a bomb explosion in Baghdad's poor neighborhood of Sadr City Sept. 23, 2006. (AFP/Getty Images)
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Iraq Insurgency
More on the militant groups behind the insurgency in Iraq and their motivations.
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Iraq: 4 Years Later
The conflict wears on as the nation struggles to rebuild.
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Religion In Iraq
An interactive guide to Iraq's religious, ethnic and ideological mix.
The assessment of the war's impact on terrorism came in a National Intelligence Estimate that represents a consensus view of the 16 disparate spy services inside government, CBS News learned Sunday.
CBS News senior White House correspondent Bill Plante reports that the intelligence report contained some broad conclusions:
The details of the Intelligence Estimate were first published in Sunday's New York Times and Washington Post.
Three leading Republicans — Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky — defended the war in Iraq and said it is vital that U.S. troops stay in the fight.
On CBS's Face The Nation, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. spoke cautiously of the report, saying that while he knew nothing about it, "it's obvious that the difficulties we've experienced in Iraq have certainly emboldened (terrorists) — lack of success always does that."
McCain, a likely candidate for president in 2008, agress with President Bush that the United States needs to stay and prevail in Iraq. "If we fail, then our problems will be much more complicated," he said.
Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn. said he had not seen the classified report, which was completed in April, but said Americans understand the United States must continue to fight terrorists in Iraq and elsewhere.
"Either we are going to be fighting this battle, this war overseas, or it's going to be right here in this country," Frist said on ABC's "This Week," echoing an argument that President Bush frequently makes.
"Attacks here at home stopped when we started fighting al Qaeda where they live, rather than responding after they hit," McConnell said in a statement.
Democrats seized on an intelligence assessment that said the Iraq war has increased the terrorist threat, saying it was further evidence that Americans should choose new leadership in the November midterm elections.
Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., said in a statement that the assessment "should put the final nail in the coffin for President Bush's phony argument about the Iraq war."
"How many more independent reports, how many more deaths, how much deeper into civil war will Iraq need to fall for the White House to wake up and change its strategy in Iraq?"
"Unfortunately this report is just confirmation that the Bush administration's stay-the-course approach to the Iraq war has not just made the war more difficult and more deadly for our troops, but has also made the war on terror more dangerous for every American," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, head of the Democratic effort to take control of the House of Representatives in the upcoming national election.
"It's time for a new direction in this country," Emanuel, an Illinois Democrat, said in the statement.
"Press reports say our nation's intelligence services have confirmed that President Bush's repeated missteps in Iraq and his stubborn refusal to change course have made America less safe," said Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid. "No election-year White House PR campaign can hide this truth."
A White House spokesman, Blair Jones, said "We don't comment on classified documents" and that the published accounts' "characterization of the NIE is not representative of the complete document."
The White House issued a written rebuttal that argued administration officials have been making some of the same arguments as in the intelligence estimate. A White House strategy booklet released this month described the terrorists as more dispersed and less centralized and still a threat to the United States.
Bush himself said on Sept. 5 that the "terrorist danger remains" and the broader terrorist movement is becoming more spread out and self-directed. He also quoted Osama bin Laden describing Iraq as the central battlefield in the fight against terrorism.
The president has said the United States is safer since the Sept. 11 attacks and that fighting the terrorists in Iraq keeps them from attacking America.
In other developments:
©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Video and Galleries from Iraq After Saddam
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Iraq Photos: June 29-July 5
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Iraq Photos: June 22 ? June 28
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Iraq Photos: June 15 ? June 21
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See all 105 CommentsIs it that the actual administration is trying to hide the truth to its population?
Not surprising a bit actually 'cause G Walking-Liar Bush has always lied not only to the Americans, but to the whole population of the world.
THIS IS THE PROOF THAT THIS ADMINISTRATION HAS FAILED, IS FAILING, AND WILL ALWAYS FAIL AS LONG AS THE US POPULATION IS NOT TOLD THE TRUTH, AS LONG AS THE CAUSE WE ENGAGE IN IS NOT JUST. AND OBVIOUSLY THE WHOLE SH*T-STIRRING IN THE MIDDLE EAST IS NOT A JUST CAUSE. GW-L BUSH IS FIGHTING FREEDOM SEEKERS THOSE WHO ARE READY TO GIVE THEIR SOUL FOR THE CAUSE THEY BELIEVE IN. IN A DIFFERENT WAY THEN THAT USA CITIZENS ARE FIGHTING FOR.
The only way to come to an agreement is to sit down with them, talk to them and try to find a common solution for everybody.
Happy birthday...
The sooner the media stops with all the BS opinion the better.
I feel so sorry about those enemies of USA who don't believe in the constitution which gives freedom of press and freedom of speech.The whole point is that why we are there?why we made a mess? and how to deal with it and fix it.We are there because of those enemies of USA who want to take oil in cheaper prices from Arabs and then support and protect their those enemies who were brought in their land after WWII to occupy it by force,all this is done because of the RACIST,UNJUST,BACKWARD and NON-SENSE CHRISTIAN IDEOLOGY which considers us Americans as GOD NEGLECTED and the EUROPEAN INVADERS IN PALESTINE as GOD CHOON.We can't deal with it and fix it whether we denounce involvement of RACIST and UNJUST CHRISTIANITY into polictics which doesn't treat people according to their actions but but treat them according to the race they belong to.IF we don't denounce the UNJUST and RACIST existance of ISRAL,nobody will ever trust us in the MIDDLE EAST and we'll be keep on suffering.
Social and political problems will never be solved through military might. Those who believe they can demonstrate a complete lack of military limitations and uses.
Your call for an expulsion of hate mongers is downright hilarious. You would appear to be one of the first to be in need of a new home.....
Hello;
I always thought that in DEPOSING Saddam Hussein, killing his two sons, installing a self determining Government in IRAQ, our job was done.
Besides..... we NEVER found Weapons of Mass Destruction there.... our VERY reason we are THERE in the first place.
So what are we STILL doing there? The SHIITES are SETTLING scores because of the years of OPPRESSION under Saddam Hussein, and this is going "*** for tat" meaning there are death squads on BOTH sides.
And our stay in IRAQ IS BEING mis-interpreted as wanting to CONTROL Iraq's Oil for our own benefit. Hence the OCCUPATION. Bush has already said that AMERICA is ADDICTED to OIL, and they were listening.
And so, how much clear is this going to be?
We are LOSING good American boys over there. And the COST of the war is UNACCEPTABLE in the language of ANY country.
In VIETNAM we also there because of the DOMINO theory. That didn't HAPPEN. In the case of IRAQ that will also happen. I don't think IRAN will anxiously take our place once we leave, contrary to popular opinion. THEY also don't want to get blown up. Besides, this takes MONEY and natural RESOURCES which IRAN will not involve itself in.
So, what are doing over there?.... The solution? THE POLLS in November!!
Hey... AMERICA!!! are you listening?
Thanks,
ralphj53
You called me unpatriotic 9 without any intellectual reason to prove that.If you are patriotic you'll be loyal to USA,it's people and it's constitution which forbids involvement of religion into politics by separating church from state.You wo'd make USA forieng policies on the basis of those RADICAL,RACIST and UNJUST CHRISTIAN belive which shows it's animosity against USA and its people by coinsidering Americans as GOD NEGLECTED and the EUROPEAN INVADERS IN PALESTINE.If you have just a little bit of intellect left,your brain is not completely damaged by alcohal as is the case with your republican Idol,Just expalin to me
SHOULD WE SUPPORT THE ILLEGITIAMTE AND UNJUSTIFIED EXISTANCE OF ISRAEL ON THE COST OF AMERICAN MONEY AND AMERICAN LIVES BECAUSE AMERICANS ARE GOD NEGLECTED AND THE EUROPEAN INVADERS IN PALESTINE ARE GOD CHOOSEN?IF WE SHOULD WHY?please don't give your answer from any religious text as I am a PATRIOTIC,LOYAL CITIZEN who firmly believes in the constitution and can't tolerate any attempt to consider my fellow citizens as GOD NEGLECTED.
Extremist Christians, Jews, and Muslims are all equally myopic and dangerous, in my opinion.
Well you just said it. YOU could not answer what I said and you'r trying to brush me off.
when you corner these right wing nutcases all of a sudden they become "the gentleman". ADMIT IT YOU HAVE NO ANSWERS or FACTS and all you do is RANT and BARK. You do not even deserve this language. I never did drugs in my life, where was your manners when you were cursing me and accusing me of being a dope. Hypocrite ***HOLE.
when I exposed "stopneofatbs" lias and urban legends he changed the subject and made it personal. these people listen too much of Limbaugh's cr*p and this is what they turn out to be.
Why don't you give a single reason to prove what you are saying is right.I asked you a very simple question
WHY SHOULD THE PEOPLE OF UNITED STATES BE CONSIDERED AS GOD NEGLECETED AND WHY THOSE EUROPEAN INVADERS IN PALETINE WHO DON'T LIVE IN USA,DON'T PAY TAX,CAUSE HATRED,TERRORISM AND9/11 AGAINST THE PEOPLE OF UNITED STATES CONSIDERED AS GOD CHOOSEN AND CLIAM THEIR RIGHT ON OUR TAX MONEY?
WHAT BENIFITS DO THE PEOPLE OF USA ENJOY BY SUPPORTING THE EUROPEAN INVADERS IN PALESTINE?
Offcoarse you won't answer and care about the second question if you don't care about the people of USA as they are GOD NEGLECTED according to your RADICAL,RACIST and UNJUST IDEOLOGY.
is no Christian :) hey stopneofatbs, which chruch do you attend to ?. I think I am entitled to ask after all youare a Christian demagogue, arent you?
Our own intelligence agencies (who have no political motives) state that the opposite is true. Who is to be believed?
Personally, I will take the facts over political ideology anytime.
I second what you just said.
real issue is: OUR OWN INTELLIGENCE NOW SAYS IRAQ WAR MADE THE SITUATION WORSE AND MADE US MORE SUSPECTIBLE TO TERROR. WHATEVER THE RIGHT WING NUTCASES CLAIMED ALL ALONG IS REFUTED RIGHT ON THE SPOT.
When religious extremism be it Christian, Jew, or Muslim, takes the wheel, logic and understanding are relegated to the back seat.....
Your casting my position as "cut and run" is not quite correct. The first thing a Marine is taught is not to engage if you are doomed to loose. Obviously, GWB didn't make enough weekend drills to have learned that basic military strategy.
It would appear to me that you would be happy if we were still sending our warriors to die in Viet Nam's rice paddies. Obviously, 55,000 wasted lives were not enough for you, Sir.
However why do you quote books as your reference or proof to your claims. Who cares about who wrote what. I thought governments were run on credible intelligence, not books some nutcase pulled out of his backside.
You obviously were not in Viet Nam, Sir - I was. Bombing Hanoi would not have won the war. We could never have dropped enough bombs, even though we tried, to stop supplies coming down the Ho Chi Minh trail, which is what was strategically necessary to have won that war.
As I stated earlier, the Phillipines and Colombia have been trying to defeat terrorism for 40 years without succes using your recommended strategy of standing army tactics. I believe that 4 decades without success attest to the fallacy of said approach.
Anyone who thinks that dropping an atomic weapon on a civilian population is not terrorism while arguing that flying aircraft into civilian targets is has a perspective that I can not even begin to fathom.
You define the success of standing army tactics againt terrorists in terms of the terrorists not winning. Success is measured by the success of standing army tactics against terrorists in defeating terrorists which has not occurred in either case.
You obviously fail to understand the strategic nature of terrorism's task: that is, to fight another day. They do not need to defeat a standing army to succeed. They just need to be able to fight again tomorrow.
You elect to see things as you choose as opposed to how they really are....this is akin to arguing with a drunk.
Either way, his stupidity has placed us here. At this point, the best we can do is insist that the Iraqi government do its part or we go. If they refuse to do it for themselves, we will never be able to do it for them regardless of how much treasure or how many warriors we waste on the endeavor.
If not, you have no right to expect others to do so.
I am so surprised to know that those people who against RACISM and INJUSTICE,the enemies of United States consider them as NEO-NAZI.If I am a NEO NAZI because I believe that all human beings have been created equal.People are not GOD CHOOSEN or GOD NEGLECTED because of the race they belong to but are good or bad on the basis of their action,then the worst NEO NAZI was Sir Thomas Jafferson.
$20 trillion dollars? 50,000 American dead? Another 30 years?
What's a reasonable price for you, Sir? Obviously we haven't reached your ceiling yet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTMu99ooKcs
Most of the experts Bush and Chenney had at their disposal said going to Iraq is a mistake.
DOE: "The tubes cannot be use for a centrifuge"
CIA: "NO yellow cake connection"
NSA: "no contact between Iraq and Al Qaeda"
Pentagon: "Taking Iraq will be a long a hard fought guerrilla warfare exercise"
Funny, I don't remember hearing much of this dissent in the run-up to "The GOP/Bush Iraq War".
Why? I don't know, but I do know that Republicans were and are in power everywhere in our government.
Message to Bush, Chenney, Rumsfeld, and all the rest of the White House fools:
I put the blame solely in your hands for the cursory war in Iraq, which you and your sloppy administration led us into.
I WANT FAMILY OF MINE TO COME HOME ALIVE FROM IRAQ. I NEVER WANT CURSORY LEADERS PUTTING MY FAMILIY IN HARMS WAY, WHEN I DON'T KNOW WHY OR FOR DISPUTED REASONS.
Shame on Republicans for their lack of imagination, their poor performance as leaders and their willful ignorance when adapting policies that effect the lives of every American.
We have to do everything in our power to remove these incompetent leaders from power.
Americans need to vote with their minds and not their emotions so Congress can be made up of leaders that will do the same.
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