By Brian Bohl

Iraq figured to play an instrumental role in the policy debates leading up to the mid-term elections this November. Now, the issue becomes more than just a philosophical debate about how the ongoing war fits in the prism of the global war on terror. In a development that was surprising in its candor, a classified report from the National Intelligence Estimate states that the Iraq war has increased the number of potential terrorists while also acting as the catalyst for a new generation of Islamic radicals.One of the key arguments for supporters of the war-chief among them the White House- has been the war is necessary for homeland security. The logic behind that sentiment purports if the United States fights the extremists overseas, it will not have to fight them domestically in the form of attacks on civilians. The premise of this argument makes sense in its simplicity, but the 2004 bombings in Madrid and in London a year later demonstrate engaging in a war does not automatically prevent terrorists from attacking your homeland. But the key to political rhetoric in this country is to repeat the same mantra over and over again until people believe it as truth. President Bush has repeatedly claimed that victory in Iraq is imminent, with the civilians in that country finally getting the chance to live in freedom. While it is true they are not living under a dictator anymore, what is left unspoken in White House news conferences are the numerous cases of daytime curfews and the actual increase of terrorists in the country from 2003 to the present. In other words, “progress is being made and freedom is on the march”-just don’t go outside day or night in the major cities, it’s kind of a danger zone. Still, Mr. Bush has said in almost every single public speech that we are close to total victory, so that’s the message that sticks despite evidence to the contrary.After no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq, the justification for sustaining the conflict changed. Sending military personnel to the area was the right move because the country was regarded as a crucial front in the war on terror, the White House said. But instead of weakening the extremists, the new study, reported by The New York Times and the Washington Post, found the war has had the opposite impact.”The Iraq war has made the overall terrorism problem worse,” said one American intelligence official to the Times.That’s not to say our servicemen and women have not been doing their jobs. When it comes to wars, it’s easy to look at the body count and claim victory, but history shows that when it comes to guerrilla warfare, casualty figures are not a precursor to success. So far, the total Iraqi combatants dead or jailed are estimated to be around 72,000-100,000. In contrast, there have been 2,676 U.S. military causalities through Sept. 15. The Vietnam War had similar disproportionate numbers of American killings to Viet Cong deaths.From a pure military standpoint, that should mean a decisive victory, but when it comes to the supposed objective of the Bush administration, it doesn’t even come close to making Iraq stable or eliminating the terror threat. This is not because of military tactics, resolve or troop performance. What makes this war almost impossible to win is the objective, and indeed the enemy itself, keeps changing. Initially, Saddam Hussein, along with his Ba’ath loyalists was the threat. Then, al-Qaeda in Iraq became the main targets before Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s death weakened the group.But the NIE report has some demoralizing news. The new threats that face the United States are terror groups that operate independently and have no central structure, according to the Washington Post, which added, “The members of the cells communicate only among themselves and derive their inspiration, ideology and tactics from the more than 5,000 radical Islamic Web sites. They spread the message that the Iraq war is a Western attempt to conquer Islam by first occupying Iraq and establishing a permanent presence in the Middle East.”The first step towards successfully fighting a war is understanding the enemy’s identity. Splinter groups that operate on their own are extremely difficult to fight in their own right, but with religious factions of Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis still fighting amongst each other; America is in a no-win situation. Despite our best intentions to bring stability and peace to a region long devoid of it, it’s time to bring the troops home now, before a new report next year says the number of terrorists has increased even more.

Brian Bohl is a junior print journalism major. You may e-mail him at [email protected]