October 10, 2005

Plots against Western Targets Emanating from Iraq

It's becoming increasingly clear that terrorist plots against Western targets are emanating from Iraq. First, there were the events of last week in New York City, where police and citizens alike were on high alert after an insurgent captured in Iraq revealed a plan to detonate bombs on the NYC subway system. The plan was hatched in Iraq, and was reportedly to be carried out on October 9 by up to 20 terrorists. Three of the suspected plotters have already been arrested in Iraq, and a fourth may be on the loose in the U.S.

The fact that the plot originated in Iraq has caused a great deal of worry, and rightly so. Earlier this year, Osama bin Laden urged the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, to expand his operations onto American soil. Zarqawi himself has talked about sending operatives to penetrate the U.S. via its porous southern border with Mexico. In addition, Zarqawi has been linked by some European authorities to the March 2004 Madrid train bombings. So it's obvious that Al-Qaeda in Iraq can indeed have a global reach, if it so chooses.

Actually, it looks like that choice has already been made, judging from a report in today's Sunday Times:

ISLAMIC terrorist suspects arrested in a series of raids at the weekend are believed to be members of a group recruiting young Muslims in Britain to fight coalition troops in Iraq.

The men, most of whom are thought to be Iraqi refugees living in the UK, are suspected of having ties to a group linked to al-Qaeda. The group is reported to have been plotting a wave of car bomb attacks across Britain and Europe.

The arrests follow concern at the increasing numbers of “jihadis” who are being sent from Britain to join insurgent groups abroad.

The men arrested on Saturday in Croydon, Derby and Wolverhampton are believed to have been linked to a group that has been under surveillance for some weeks.

Undercover officers have been investigating the group’s finances, smuggling routes and reported links with known terror leaders such as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who has orchestrated scores of bomb attacks against US and British soldiers in Iraq and the murders of western hostages such as Ken Bigley.

This is just further proof that Iraq is indeed the central battleground in the War on Terror. So is a recently intercepted letter from Al-Qaeda's number two man, Ayman al-Zawahiri, to Zarqawi in which the former urged Zarqawi to drive U.S. forces from Iraq and create an Islamic state there. Al-Qaeda would use an Islam fascist Iraq as a base to extend its operations into neighboring countries, igniting a ruthless jihad across the region. Clearly, we can't let that happen, which is why Cindy Sheehan, Michael Moore, Teddy Kennedy, and their far left ilk must be ignored at all costs when they call for the immediate withdrawal of Coalition forces from Iraq.

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