MOSLEYDS
Oct 4th, 2006, 4:31 pm
By TOM ROEDER THE GAZETTE
The Colorado Springs Gazette
Oct. 4
Contrary to a White House intelligence report released last month, the war in Iraq is lessening the threat of terrorist attacks on American soil, experts said Tuesday at the Homeland Security Symposium in Colorado Springs. Military officials', experts' and retired generals' reasoning remains consistent with what they've said since the rise of the insurgency in Iraq: Every terrorist killed or captured in Iraq is one less militant who could carry out an attack on American soil.
"I believe the right thing to do is to take the fight to the enemy," said retired Air Force Gen. Ed Eberhart, a former commander of U.S. Northern Command in Colorado Springs. "As the terrorists see us as more than willing to hunt them down, it will dissuade them from attacking us."
The logic is that terrorists are getting bogged down in Iraq and are left without the means to attack here, said retired Lt. Gen. Ed Soriano, a former Fort Carson commander.
"That's the whole intent," he said. "We don't want this fight to come to us in America and as long as we keep at it in Iraq, it won't."
The White House report, a compilation of data from federal intelligence agencies, said the war in Iraq is driving growth of Islamic militant groups who will pose increased threats to U.S. interests at home and abroad.
Although most experts disagreed with that assessment, no guarantees of safety are being offered at the three-day symposium on countering t attacks and natural disasters that's being held at The Broadmoor hotel.
In fact, most of the speakers Tuesday guaranteed the opposite.
Retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey, best known for his role in leading anti-drug efforts in the Clinton administration, called a future attack on U.S. soil "100 percent certain."
But McCaffrey, like the other retired generals, said efforts to root out terrorists are working and America is a safer place today than it was before troops invaded Iraq.
McCaffrey, Tuesday's keynote speaker at the symposium, isn't in lock step with the Bush administration's tactics in Iraq. The general said the U.S. effort there is in serious trouble.
He said more money, more troops and more backing among the American public will be requirements for American victory in Iraq.
But it's a little too late to start worrying about whether terrorism is worse since the Iraq war started, said retired Army Col. David McIntyre, who heads the homeland security center at Texas A&M University.
"The real question is what's next?" he said.
McIntyre said the problem is that America faces an intractable enemy that has no intention of slowing its anti-American campaign even if U.S. troops abandon the Middle East.
"We keep thinking about ways to break away from this war," he said. "But they aren't going to let us."
Army Maj. Gen. William Webster, Northern Command's operations chief, said terrorism is a growing concern and that some of its growth can be attributed to American military involvement in Iraq.
The command at Peterson Air Force Base closely tracks terrorism in its role to defend America from attacks.
But, he said, terrorism has been a growing business for a long time. Webster, who survived the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon and went on to serve as the commander of an Army division in Baghdad, traced the growth of terrorism to the 1980s when American entanglements in Lebanon led to a series of terror attacks.
"It's important to remember we didn't start this war," he said.
One speaker Tuesday said America can help stem the growth of Islamic terrorism by waging a better public relations campaign.
Ahmad Dhani, Indonesia's top rock star, told an audience of about 1,500 people at the symposium that Americans need to convince the world that we aren't at war with Islam.
"People in Indonesia think America hates Muslims," he said. "We have to let people know that America hates the radicals."
Dhani was at the symposium to push his campaign to persuade Indonesians to shun extremist beliefs. His work includes a hit song that calls for tolerance by quoting the Muslim holy book, the Quran.
The Colorado Springs Gazette
Oct. 4
Contrary to a White House intelligence report released last month, the war in Iraq is lessening the threat of terrorist attacks on American soil, experts said Tuesday at the Homeland Security Symposium in Colorado Springs. Military officials', experts' and retired generals' reasoning remains consistent with what they've said since the rise of the insurgency in Iraq: Every terrorist killed or captured in Iraq is one less militant who could carry out an attack on American soil.
"I believe the right thing to do is to take the fight to the enemy," said retired Air Force Gen. Ed Eberhart, a former commander of U.S. Northern Command in Colorado Springs. "As the terrorists see us as more than willing to hunt them down, it will dissuade them from attacking us."
The logic is that terrorists are getting bogged down in Iraq and are left without the means to attack here, said retired Lt. Gen. Ed Soriano, a former Fort Carson commander.
"That's the whole intent," he said. "We don't want this fight to come to us in America and as long as we keep at it in Iraq, it won't."
The White House report, a compilation of data from federal intelligence agencies, said the war in Iraq is driving growth of Islamic militant groups who will pose increased threats to U.S. interests at home and abroad.
Although most experts disagreed with that assessment, no guarantees of safety are being offered at the three-day symposium on countering t attacks and natural disasters that's being held at The Broadmoor hotel.
In fact, most of the speakers Tuesday guaranteed the opposite.
Retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey, best known for his role in leading anti-drug efforts in the Clinton administration, called a future attack on U.S. soil "100 percent certain."
But McCaffrey, like the other retired generals, said efforts to root out terrorists are working and America is a safer place today than it was before troops invaded Iraq.
McCaffrey, Tuesday's keynote speaker at the symposium, isn't in lock step with the Bush administration's tactics in Iraq. The general said the U.S. effort there is in serious trouble.
He said more money, more troops and more backing among the American public will be requirements for American victory in Iraq.
But it's a little too late to start worrying about whether terrorism is worse since the Iraq war started, said retired Army Col. David McIntyre, who heads the homeland security center at Texas A&M University.
"The real question is what's next?" he said.
McIntyre said the problem is that America faces an intractable enemy that has no intention of slowing its anti-American campaign even if U.S. troops abandon the Middle East.
"We keep thinking about ways to break away from this war," he said. "But they aren't going to let us."
Army Maj. Gen. William Webster, Northern Command's operations chief, said terrorism is a growing concern and that some of its growth can be attributed to American military involvement in Iraq.
The command at Peterson Air Force Base closely tracks terrorism in its role to defend America from attacks.
But, he said, terrorism has been a growing business for a long time. Webster, who survived the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon and went on to serve as the commander of an Army division in Baghdad, traced the growth of terrorism to the 1980s when American entanglements in Lebanon led to a series of terror attacks.
"It's important to remember we didn't start this war," he said.
One speaker Tuesday said America can help stem the growth of Islamic terrorism by waging a better public relations campaign.
Ahmad Dhani, Indonesia's top rock star, told an audience of about 1,500 people at the symposium that Americans need to convince the world that we aren't at war with Islam.
"People in Indonesia think America hates Muslims," he said. "We have to let people know that America hates the radicals."
Dhani was at the symposium to push his campaign to persuade Indonesians to shun extremist beliefs. His work includes a hit song that calls for tolerance by quoting the Muslim holy book, the Quran.