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Jewish World Review July 14, 2005 / 7 Taamuz, 5765 That Islamic radicals are capable of mounting an occasional attack outside of Iraq ‘proves’ that Iraq has not been a drain on their attention and resources? By Jack Kelly
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
In a story Wednesday on the London suicide bombers, Glenn Frankel of the
Washington Post wrote this paragraph:
"Still, the profile of the suspects suggested by investigators fit
long-standing warnings by security experts that the greatest threat to
Britain could come from second-generation Muslims, born here but alienated
from British society and perhaps from their own families, and inflamed by
Britain's participation in the Iraq war."
We know absolutely nothing about when the four Pakistani-Briton suspects
became radicalized, or if Iraq had anything to do with it, so Frankel was
blatantly editorializing in the news columns. His crossing the line fits
two memes the Left has been peddling in the wake of the London bombings.
The first is that the London bombings disprove the "flypaper" theory about
Iraq.
The second is that Iraq has become a "breeding ground" for terrorists.
The "flypaper" theory was coined by Canadian columnist David Warren, who
wrote in July, 2003, that "President Bush has...created a new playground for
the enemy away from Israel and even farther away from the United States
itself. By the very act of providing this lower ground he drains terrorist
resources from other swamps."
The breeding ground theory is that radical Muslims flock to Iraq to fight
the Americans, where they gain valuable experience. They then return to
where they came from (or go somewhere else) and put their sharpened skills
to work in attacks on the West.
As a theory, this is perfectly respectable. The core of al Qaida was formed
by Arabs who had fought the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. But evidence that
veterans of the Iraqi insurgency have been responsible for terror attacks
elsewhere is scant.
It is possible — I think probable — that both theories are true. But
while the flypaper theory can be true even if the breeding ground theory is
not, the breeding ground theory cannot be true unless the flypaper theory
also is true. Foreign jihadis cannot put operational experience gained in
Iraq to work elsewhere unless they have been attracted to Iraq in the first
place.
Warren thinks the last 23 months have proved the flypaper theory is correct:
"All ground indications are that large numbers of Islamist terrorists who
otherwise would remain dangerously under cover...are irresistably drawn to
(Iraq and Afghanistan) where they sooner or later get themselves killed."
His view is shared by retired Army intelligence officer Ralph Peters:
"Critics claimed that Iraq was a diversion from the war on terror," Peters
wrote in USA Today Wednesday. "Yet the terrorists are committing all the
lives they can muster and every resource they command to prevent the
emergence of a rule-of-law democracy in Baghdad. Even the recent bombings
in London seem to be intended to drive British forces out of Iraq. If Iraq
doesn't matter, why are the Islamist terrorists so desperate to dislodge
us?"
Only someone unacquainted with logic, or disdainful of it, would claim the
undeniable fact that Islamic radicals are capable of mounting an occasional
attack outside of Iraq "proves" that Iraq has not been a drain on their
attention and resources.
We have no way of knowing how many of the hundreds of foreign jihadis would
have committed acts of terror elsewhere if they had not been killed in Iraq,
but the number likely is substantial.
On the other hand, those who claim Iraq is a breeding ground for terrorists
have yet to identify a single veteran of the Iraq conflict who has been
responsible for a subsequent act of terror anywhere else.
The evidence indicates we are, and the margins aren't close.
There has been a curious dichotomy in the way our news media have reported
the effect of the war in Iraq on the opposing forces. Virtually all of the
stories on American forces have emphasized the strains the war is imposing
on recruiting, logistics, the All Volunteer Force. Virtually all the
stories on the "insurgents" have been about the operational experience
they're gaining, the battlefield lessons they're learning.
It works the other way, too. Our military has become the most experienced
in the world, and enormous strains have been placed on "insurgent"
resources.
But you never hear about that. I wonder why.
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© 2005, Jack Kelly |
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