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Whie House: Iraq War Intel Report Incomplete NewsMax.com Wires WASHINGTON -- A newspaper report that a U.S. intelligence analysis found that the Iraq war gave rise to a new generation of Islamic radicals and made the overall terrorism problem worse was "not representative of the complete document," the White House said on Sunday.
The New York Times reported that a classified National Intelligence Estimate completed in April said Islamic radicalism had mushroomed worldwide and cited the Iraq war as a reason for the spread of jihadist ideology.
It was the first formal appraisal of global terrorism by U.S. intelligence agencies since the Iraq war began in March 2003 and represents a consensus view of the 16 spy services.
"The New York Times' characterization of the NIE is not representative of the complete document," said White House spokesman Peter Watkins.
He declined to comment on information contained in the classified document.
Story Continues Below U.S. intelligence chief John Negroponte said news reports on the NIE characterize "only a small handful" of the conclusions from a broad strategic assessment of global terrorism.
"The conclusions of the intelligence community are designed to be comprehensive and viewing them through the narrow prism of a fraction of judgments distorts the broad framework they create," Negroponte said in a statement.
Negroponte said the analysis found that if the U.S. effort to establish a stable government in Iraq succeeded, jihadists would be weakened and "fewer jihadists will leave Iraq determined to carry on the fight elsewhere."
President George W. Bush has steadfastly insisted that his decision to invade Iraq was the right action to take to head off a potential threat.
At fund-raisers ahead of the November congressional elections he has been striving to portray his administration as tough on terrorism and the Republicans as the best party to protect Americans.
Democrats, trying to win control of Congress from the Republicans, have focused on the Iraq war, which is increasingly unpopular with the public. Rep. Jane Harman of California, the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said she agreed that the Iraq war had caused the spread of jihadist ideology. "Every intelligence analyst I speak to confirms that," she said on CNN's "Late Edition." "And that is why . . . the best military commission proposal in the world and even capturing the remaining top al Qaeda leadership isn't going to prevent copycat cells, and it isn't going to change a failed policy in Iraq," she said. "This administration is trying to change the subject. I don't think voters are going to buy that."
© Reuters 2006. All rights reserved.
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