Hatred of U.S. drives al-Qaida recruiting

[Poiuyt]

Hatred of U.S. drives al-Qaida recruiting
As Americans become desensitized, violence radicalizes ordinary Arabs

The Bush administration rejects the idea that the war in Iraq has driven young Arab men into the arms of al-Qaida. But if you believe the young men themselves, the administration is wrong.

At a Baghdad jail for prisoners who have attacked U.S. forces, everyone — to a man — says it was the U.S. occupation of Iraq that drove them to violence. And they are not alone. Across the Middle East and South Asia, the same story can be heard in Internet cafes, mosques, safe houses and prisons.

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Interviews with Farhan and other radicals reveal that many young men were torn when it came time to choose sides. Even though they fight alongside al-Qaida, they insist that — contrary to what U.S. officials say — they do not support al-Qaida. Many, in fact, say they hate al-Qaida.

But they hate the United States more.

Turned against the Americans
“An aggressor occupied my country, destroyed it and made millions refugees. It is an honor to fight this,” said Hamid Ali, the owner of a construction company who also admitted attacking U.S. troops.

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‘Chasing the wrong bad guys’
Bruce Riedel, a former Middle East expert with the CIA, said that the Bush administration was unable to admit that it had made mistakes and that the war had made things worse.

“We’ve got our best and brightest in the wrong desert, chasing the wrong bad guys,” said Riedel, who was the National Security Council’s senior director for Near East and North African affairs on 9/11. “We need to put our best people in South Asia going after the man who we know is planning another attack on the U.S.” — that is, Osama bin Laden.

The war has “made America less safe,” he contended. “By diverting so much money, so much of our intelligence effort and so much of our special forces in the military to fighting a war in Iraq, we have diverted resources from the central battlefield in the war against al-Qaida.”

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21312504/

[silverojo]

1. Can we put this in the "No, Duh!" folder?

Everybody but Bu$h¢o has long been aware of this. And thanks to wimps like Reid and Pelosi, this fiasco will continue. :mad:

[Rex]

2. Oh well, of course the Bush Administration rejects the notion

These fucking idiots hate the truth, shun anything to do with the truth. :eyes: