http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/25/world/middleeast/25terror.html

September 25, 2006

Study of Iraq War and Terror Stirs Strong Political Response

By PHILIP SHENON and MARK MAZZETTI

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 -- Democratic lawmakers, responding to an intelligence report that found that the Iraq war has invigorated Islamic radicalism and worsened the global terrorist threat, said the assessment by American spy agencies demonstrated that the Bush administration needed to devise a new strategy for its handling of the war.

Representative Jane Harman of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said that while she could not discuss details of the classified National Intelligence Estimate, "Every intelligence analyst I speak to confirms that" the Iraq war had contributed to the increased terrorist threat.

"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," Ms. Harman said on CNN's "Late Edition." "This administration is trying to change the subject. I don't think voters are going to buy that."

In public comments on Sunday, Republican Congressional leaders did not dispute the accuracy of the reports about the intelligence estimate, although they continued to defend the American presence in Iraq.

"I think it's obvious that the difficulties we've experienced in Iraq have certainly emboldened" terrorist groups, Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican, said on the CBS News program "Face the Nation."

"But I would also argue that these people didn't need any motivation to attack us on Sept. 11," he said.

The intelligence estimate, an assessment by America's 16 intelligence agencies, found that the war in Iraq, rather than stemming the growth of terrorism, had helped fuel its spread across the globe.

The estimate was completed in April, and is the first formal review of global terrorism by the United States since the Iraq war began. More than a dozen government officials and terrorism experts described the estimate to The New York Times, but spoke on condition of anonymity because its contents are classified.

Several of the lawmakers who appeared on Sunday talk shows said they had not seen the classified document, whose disclosure comes weeks before the Nov. 7 elections. Intelligence reports from American spy agencies are not circulated widely on Capitol Hill, and Congressional officials said neither the House nor the Senate intelligence committees had been formally briefed on the report.

In a statement released Sunday, the White House said the characterization of the report in The New York Times "is not representative of the complete document." The White House did not release any specifics about the report, citing the fact that it was classified.

John D. Negroponte, director of national intelligence, said in a statement on Sunday that conclusions about the Iraq war are only a part of the overall intelligence assessment, and that viewing the report's conclusions "through the narrow prism of a fraction of judgments distorts the broad framework they create."

"While there is much that remains to be done in the war on terror, we have achieved some notable successes against the global jihadist threat," he said.

The White House also issued three pages of excerpts from recent speeches by President Bush, including remarks about the continuing threats from terrorist groups inspired by Al Qaeda.

The House Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi of California, said in a statement that news reports about the intelligence estimate were "further proof that the war in Iraq is making it harder for America to fight and win the war on terror."

Her Senate Democratic counterpart, Harry Reid of Nevada, said that "no election-year White House P.R. campaign can hide this truth -- it is crystal clear that America's security demands we change course in Iraq."