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Bush - A nine-day trip to Asia.
Wed Oct 15 17:34:58 2003
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Iraq War Swells Al Qaeda's Ranks, Report Says
Wed October 15, 2003 12:53 PM ET
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=3620323

By Peter Graff

LONDON (Reuters) - War in Iraq has swollen the ranks of al Qaeda and galvanized the Islamic militant group's will, the International Institute for Strategic Studies said on Wednesday in its annual report.

The 2003-2004 edition of the British-based think-tank's annual bible for defense analysts, The Military Balance, said Washington's assertions after the Iraq conflict that it had turned the corner in the war on terror were "over-confident."

The report, widely considered an authoritative text on the military capabilities of states and militant groups worldwide, could prove fodder for critics of the U.S.-British invasion and of the reconstruction effort that has followed in Iraq.

Washington must impose security in Iraq to prevent the country from "ripening into a cause celebre for radical Islamic terrorists," it concluded. "Nation-building" in Iraq was paramount and might require more troops than initially planned.

"On the plus side, war in Iraq has denied al Qaeda a potential supplier of weapons of mass destruction and discouraged state sponsors of terrorism from continuing to support it," the report said.

"On the minus side, war in Iraq has probably inflamed radical passions among Muslims and thus increased al Qaeda's recruiting power and morale and, at least marginally, its operating capability," it said.

"The immediate effect of the war may have been to isolate further al Qaeda from any potential state supporters while also swelling its ranks and galvanizing its will."

FAILED STATES

Magnus Ranstorp, terrorism expert at Britain's St Andrew's University, told Reuters the report's findings would drive home the importance of rebuilding Iraq and other conflict zones.

"Military planners and the law enforcement community are fully aware of the consequences of failed states," he said.

"I think it's probably worthwhile for politicians to keep in mind our responsibility to provide sustained and long term reconstruction in war-torn countries, so they don't fly back into anarchy or become incubators of terrorism."

Washington blames al Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, for the 2001 U.S. airliner hijack attacks which killed 3,044 people.

A crackdown had netted some al Qaeda leaders and deprived al Qaeda of bases in Afghanistan. But it also "impelled an already highly decentralized and evasive international terrorist network to become even more 'virtual' and protean and, therefore, harder to identify and neutralize," the IISS report said.

It said 18,000 veterans of al Qaeda's Afghan training camps were still probably operating worldwide "with recruitment continuing and probably increasing following the war in Iraq."

Al Qaeda leaders, including bin Laden, are mostly still at large and continue to incite followers over the Internet and through pronouncements on Arabic-language television.

Because of its extreme religious world view, al Qaeda "cannot be tamed or controlled through political compromise or conflict resolution," the report said.

But Western countries need to do more to reach out to Muslim countries and their own Islamic minorities to "eliminate the root causes of terrorism," especially after the Iraq war "almost certainly further alienated Islam from the West."

Efforts should be redoubled to resolve local conflicts, such as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, so regional radical groups such as Hamas do not fall into al Qaeda's embrace, it said.
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Bush - A nine-day trip to Asia
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1012bush12.html

Tom Raum
Associated Press
Oct. 12, 2003 12:00 AM

WASHINGTON - A nine-day trip to Asia and Australia might seem a welcome respite to President Bush, who is being rebuffed by European powers and hounded by criticism at home over Iraq, a CIA-leak investigation and a weak economy.

But even across the Pacific, some difficult issues will pursue him, including the loss of millions of U.S. jobs.

To many in the United States, China and other low-wage Asian countries are prime culprits in the snatching of jobs from American workers. With Democratic presidential candidates making noises about this issue, it is sure to factor prominently on the campaign trail next year.

As Bush travels through Asia, he faces the challenge of a political balancing act: addressing domestic concerns mindful of his audience back home while trying to placate foreign hosts who want more trade and economic concessions from Washington in exchange for their help fighting terrorism.

"It's a tough assignment. He has to try to appeal to both audiences," said former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

"He's got to be a strong advocate of the American economy, and he's got to go forward with open trade, and of course he's going to have to stress terrorism and weapons non-proliferation," said Hamilton, a former chairman of the House International Relations Committee.

The president's trip, which begins Wednesday, takes him to Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines and Australia.

He will meet with Chinese leaders in Bangkok, Thailand, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, which runs Oct. 20-23.

The trip partly is to thank leaders who have backed Bush on Iraq. Notable among them are Australian Prime Minister John Howard, Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Japanese President Junichuro Koizumi.

Bush also hopes to win new financial and military support for the U.S.-led anti-terrorism efforts in a region that is home to some of the world's fastest-growing economies as well as groups with links to al-Qaida.

Bush will also have to address the menace of North Korea's nuclear program and a recent escalation of tensions between China and Taiwan.

On the economic home front, Bush and Congress are under pressure to do something, given the loss of some 3.2 million jobs since January 2001 and China's soaring trade surplus with the United States.

Lawmakers from both parties accuse China of keeping its currency artificially low to favor Chinese companies and of not abiding by market-opening commitments Beijing made when it joined the World Trade Organization two years ago.

There are moves to impose tariffs on Chinese goods if Beijing does not change its ways.

"These are extremely difficult economic times. More than 9 million Americans are without jobs," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York, the senior Democrat on the House Financial Services subcommittee on monetary policy.

"In this environment, it is understandable that concern would focus on a country that utilizes an artificial peg to maintain a set exchange rate with the U.S. dollar."

Treasury Secretary John Snow, who was in Beijing in early September, urged the Chinese to stop rigidly controlling its currency rate. Administration officials say the president may make a similar appeal when he meets with Chinese leaders.

"I'm a free trader, but I'm also a fair trader. And I believe our manufacturing sector, for example, must be treated fairly in foreign markets," Bush said during a recent Cabinet meeting.

Given the sensitivity of the jobs issue and calls for a harder line on China, this may not be the best time politically for Bush to be in Asia, suggested James Thurber, an American University political scientist.

"In fact it may hurt him in the middle of a Democratic race for the nomination to have him over there," Thurber said.
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Searched news for Bush - A nine-day trip to Asia. Results 1 - 10 of about 110

• Re: Bush - A nine-day trip to Asia — David, Wed Oct 15 20:10
• No Aloha for Bush! — Tane, Thu Oct 16 03:20
• U.S.A. will attack Syria — Hector Carreon, Wed Oct 15 18:43
• One World Army Takeover move — Billy-Joe..Mauldin, Wed Oct 15 18:46
• Wilson adds ammo to hit war credibility gap — I C H, Wed Oct 15 18:05
• Experts See Delay Tactic in CIA Leak Case — DEB RIECHMANN, Wed Oct 15 20:02