Propaganda No More

This past week has seen the leak of a secret “National Intelligence Estimate” (NIE) that concluded, among other things, that the Iraq War has made the world a more dangerous place by fomenting Islamic radicalism. The leaked report, which was prepared in April and is titled “Trends in Global Terrorism: Implications for the United States,” represents the unanimous opinion of 16 United States intelligence agencies. Portions of that document were declassified today. Read them here.

In a similar development, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf released his memoir In the Line of Fire, in which he criticized the Iraq War, arguing it has made the world “more dangerous.” What’s more, Musharraf concluded that Pakistan, the United States, and Saudi Arabia created an extremist “monster” by supporting radical Islamic groups during the Soviet Union’s occupation of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989.

Long argued by those patriotic enough to criticize their government, these two ideas—that the War on Terror is making the world less safe and that some of America’s Cold War strategies for defeating the Soviet Union contributed to the rise of Al Qaeda and Islamic militants—have long been dismissed by Republicans as liberal propaganda, but this week has made it a little bit tougher for Republican spin doctors to do that.

Now that America’s intelligence agencies and one of our major allies in the so-called War on Terror have joined the chorus of voices condemning our failed foreign policy, the Republicans will have a tougher time defending their record, and in an election year to boot.

Poor Republicans. It’s tough when your friends turn on you.