Contributed by: filbert Monday, September 25 2006 @ 09:39 PM CST
You know, the one that got recently leaked to the New York Times, the one that says that Bush has made the problem worse?
Here’s how it works: the Times gets fed a “leak” by a “knowledgable source” of some especially juicy parts of the NIE that are damaging to Bush and to the war on Islamism, and the Times just can’t get the details into print fast enough.
How about listening to someone who says they’ve actually read the document[*1] , not to the New York Times, who says that they talked to someone who’s read it:
Thankfully, the actual NIE is not the harbinger of disaster that theTimes and WaPo would have us believe. According to members of the intelcommunity who have seen the document, the NIE is actually fair andbalanced (to coin a phrase), noting both successes and failures in theWar on Terror–and identifying potential points of failure for thejihadists. The quotes printed below–taken directly from the documentand provided to this blogger–provide “the other side” of the estimate,and its more balanced assessment of where we stand in the War on Terror(comments in italics are mine).
In one of its early paragraphs,the estimate notes progress in the struggle against terrorism, statingthe U.S.-led efforts have “seriously damaged Al Qaida leadership and disrupted its operations.” Didn’t see that in the NYT article.
Or how about this statement, which–in part–reflects the impact of increased pressure on the terrorists: “Alarge body of reporting indicates that people identifying themselves asjihadists is increasing…however, they are largely decentralized, lacka coherent strategy and are becoming more diffuse.”Hmm…doesn’t sound much like Al Qaida’s pre-9-11 game plan.The report also notes the importance of the War in Iraq as a make or break point for the terrorists: “Should jihadists leaving Iraq perceive themselves to have failed, we judge that fewer will carry on the fight.” It’s called a ripple effect.
More support for the defeating the enemy on his home turf: “Threats to the U.S. are intrinsically linked to U.S. success or failure in Iraq.” PresidentBush and senior administration officials have made this argument manytimes–and it’s been consistently dismissed by the “experts” at theWaPo and Times.
And, some indication that the “growing” jihad may be pursuing the wrong course: “Thereis evidence that violent tactics are backfiring…their greatestvulnerability is that their ultimate political solution (shar’a law) isunpopular with the vast majority of Muslims.” Seems to contradict MSM accounts of a jihadist tsunami with ever-increasing support in the global Islamic community..The estimate also affirms the wisdom of sowing democracy in the Middle East: “Progresstoward pluralism and more responsive political systems in the Muslimworld will eliminate many of the grievances jihadists exploit.” As I recall, this the core of our strategy in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Italics and emphasis in original.
Hat tip: PowerLine[*2]