Iraq is Big Money for Al-Qaida

Funds to further terrorist activities by al-Qaida are coming from Iraq. This is just the latest proof that the war in Iraq has emboldened al-Qaida and made us less safe all around the world.

In one of the most troubling trends, U.S. officials said al-Qaida's command base in Pakistan increasingly is being funded by cash from Iraq, where the terrorist network's operatives are raising substantial sums from donations to the insurgency as well as kidnappings of wealthy Iraqis and other criminal activity.

The influx of money has bolstered al-Qaida's leadership ranks at a time when the core command is regrouping. The trend also signals a reversal in the traditional flow of al-Qaida funds, with the leadership surviving to a large extent on money from its most profitable franchise, rather than distributing funds from headquarters to distant cells.

Al-Qaida's efforts were aided, intelligence officials said, by Pakistan's withdrawal in September of tens of thousands of troops from tribal areas along the Afghanistan border where bin Laden and his top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, are believed to be hiding.

Pakistan, is our ally in name only and continues to be a safe haven for terrorists. If the Government of Pakistan falls it will quickly become the most dangerous nation on earth. The war in Iraq has misplaced our priorities and inflamed the next generation of Muslim men. Al-Qaida will have no trouble recruiting the next generation of terrorists. The Iraq War is a disaster on more levels than we can possibly imagine. We are left with no good options in Iraq. The daily bloodshed breeds the next generation of terrorists and pushes Iraq deeper into civil war. This is what happens when you choose war.