A stark assessment of terrorism trends by American intelligence agencies has found that the American invasion and occupation of Iraq has helped spawn a new generation of Islamic radicalism and that the overall terrorist threat has grown since the Sept. 11 attacks.
And here’s the key judgment from the just-declassified April National Intelligence Estimate itself on the jihadist threat (find PDF file here):
Four underlying factors are fueling the spread of the jihadist movement: (1) Entrenched grievances, such as corruption, injustice, and fear of Western domination, leading to anger, humiliation, and a sense of powerlessness; (2) the Iraq “jihad;” (3) the slow pace of real and sustained economic, social, and political reforms in many Muslim majority nations; and (4) pervasive anti-US sentiment among most Muslims—all of which jihadists exploit.
The New York Times not only created the story, it also forced Bush to declassify the intelligence report to refute the Times. On the way, the Times provided the briefing leading Democrats used to pound home their central theme for the 2006 elections—Iraq is a distraction from the real war on terrorism that reduces our chances of winning the war that counts.
The U.S. is the world’s leading democracy, with a very healthy free press. The old Soviet Union and China today exemplify authoritarian regimes that suppress information hostile to those in power. But as one who was paid to scour China’s People’s Daily for clues as to what the leadership was up to, I’m struck by a similarity between the USSR’s Pravda, the People’s Daily, and the New York Times. 
Apparatchiks get their morning briefing from the newspapers, the talking points they will carry into the rest of the day’s activities. That’s why it was so valuable for students of China to read People’s Daily. And the New York Times knowingly performs that same valuable service for America’s Democratic Party.
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