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Length: 4:39
ROSEMARY CHURCH: Now to
the U.S. terror report.
A small portion of it was declassified just a sort
time ago. And the assessment: al Qaeda is resurgent
and poses a renewed threat to the United States.
JIM CLANCY: That's right. Though the report states
that the terror group is not as strong as it was
before the September 11th attacks, we should note the
report specifically references Al Qaeda in Iraq,
separate from Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda that was
originally in Afghanistan, now believed to be on the
border with Pakistan. But also considers Iraq a
potential threat.
CHURCH: That's right. And we're covering this story
across the globe.
Kelli Arena is standing by in Washington with the
details of the report. And Michael Ware is in
Baghdad.
First to Kelli.
CLANCY: As Kelli was talking about there, Al Qaeda in
Iraq gaining new significance. Let's get some more on
that threat, that part of it, at least.
Let's turn now to CNN's Michael Ware, joining us live
from Baghdad.
What do you make of the analysis there? Some people
would say that it's a definite grasp for the obvious.
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, from what
I've seen of the National Intelligence Estimate, the
thrust of it is right in the sense that, is al Qaeda
stronger globally and particularly here in Iraq, as a
direct result of the American war? Yes, absolutely.
Is al Qaeda the blooding ground, the training ground
for the next generation of al Qaeda? Bolder, more
brutal, more determined than the generation that we
saw come out of Afghanistan after the Soviet war and
the generation that actually attacked U.S. soil? Yes,
again, absolutely. This is the blooding ground.
But drawing that direct link between Al Qaeda in Iraq
right now and attacks on the U.S. homeland is the
thing that raises one's cynicism. I mean, we saw
President Bush in his most recent address on Iraq try
to shift the focus of the war or the public attention
of the war back to al Qaeda, repeatedly referring to
Al Qaeda in Iraq as "those who attacked America."
He was clearly making an appeal to America's most
familiar and tangible fear, that being al Qaeda and
the strikes in New York and D.C. But Al Qaeda in Iraq
right now lacks the capability to launch that direct
attack. So you have to be wary of people using spin
to re-craft the body of this report. But, is it true
that should there be another 9/11, should such a
terrible day come, is there a greater chance now that
there will be an Iraqi among the 19, that part of the
plot will be hatched in Iraq? Absolutely.
But what's most dangerous is the idea of Iraq. The
bombers in London have no connection to Iraq, but
cited it as one of their primary justifications for
launching their attacks. There's the real threat of
Al Qaeda in Iraq.
CLANCY: Well, and the real threat of the whole Iraq
experience for a lot of the jihadists that are there,
what kind of training, what kind of experience have
they had that they could carry outside of the country
and pose a threat not only in the United States, but
elsewhere?
WARE: We've already seen the export of their
expertise and experience within this region, Jim. I
mean, we saw the attacks, the bombings at hotels in
neighboring Jordan which were conducted by Zarqawi's
organization, his brand of al Qaeda, the late al
Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Now, there's generally two types of foreign fighters
in broad terms that come. One group are the cannon
fodder, these ideologically, religiously-inspired
young men who come to die. Now, they're they ones who
strap themselves to the wheels of a car bomb and
plunge it into a U.S. patrol.
But there's an older, more seasoned guard. These are
the guys who come in and command the operations, who
are here to fight.
Are they ready to die? Absolutely. But they'll finish
a six-month tour, a 12-month tour of Iraq just like
an American soldier and return to their home bases.
There, they have a whole new cachet. They have a
whole new magnetism. And they use their experiences
of saying, "I was there, I fought America, I killed
Americans," to recruit, to gain money and to extend
their operations.
CLANCY: All right. Some important words coming -- and
perspective there coming from our own correspondent
there in Baghdad, Michael Ware.
Michael, as always, thank you very much.
It adds a lot really to the National Intelligence
Estimate that you have.