Has the Iraq War Contributed to the Growth of Terrorism?

Ever since the commencement of the US-led war on Iraq, there has been constant speculation regarding its impact on Islamic terrorism in Iraq. Though the war was meant to be a counter-terrorism act, the present case scenario proves to be quite contradictory. This fact is evidenced by American intelligence agencies’ meticulously assessment of global terrorism trends that concluded that American invasion and occupation of Iraq post Iraq war has fuelled Islamic radicalism and terrorism as a whole since September 11 attacks with the growth of new terrorist outfits and cells that function independently or are in indirect contact with Laden.

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The “National Intelligence Estimate” is said to be a cumulative analysis of all sixteen American intelligence agencies and is considered the most comprehensive report yet; nevertheless, there had been a prediction of terrorism upsurge even before the US-led invasion in 2003. This report, completed in April reveals that Islamic radicalism has mushroomed worldwide and cites the Iraq war as a reason for the spread of jihad ideology. Internet has also played a crucial role in the spreading of jihad’s ideologies and has facilitated terrorist operations through multiple extremist websites.

The radical Islamic movement has expanded from a core of Qaeda operatives and affiliated groups to include a new class of 'self-generating' cells inspired by al Qaeda's leadership but without any direct connection to Osama bin Laden or his top lieutenants. This theory is supported by the estimates’ derivations. In counter-argument it can be said that Islamic militants had hated the US long before it invaded Iraq, or even Afghanistan for that matter as agreed upon by Mr. Bush.

The federal government received many predictive warnings regarding the aggravation of Islamic terrorism, recruitment and religious extremism. The briefing about the possible consequences were given verbally and in written to the intelligence officials. However, the Prime Minister claimed that the war would be an important step in the global war against terrorism.

As it eventually turns out, the US led war on Iraq has not made the world any safer and Iraq has now become worse than Taliban ruled Afghanistan in terms of militancy as attacks attributed to al-Qaeda’s wing surges in Baghdad and the west of the country.

Although the US had impacted a serious blow onto al-Qaeda and counteracted and averted many of their major operations, radical Islamic networks had however spread and decentralized.

The report concludes that many new outfits and cells have no connection with any central structure and communicate only among themselves, getting their inspiration, ideology and tactics from the innumerable extremist websites that propagate the idea that the Iraq war is a Western attempt to conquer Islam by first occupying Iraq and establishing a permanent presence in the Middle East.

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