US Iraq presence fuels radicals - French official

[sabra]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L10722966.htm

US Iraq presence fuels radicals - French official

BERLIN, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Some Muslims in Europe are going to Iraq to fight U.S.-led forces because they see the situation as similar to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, a top French anti-terrorism official said on Thursday.

Jean-Louis Bruguiere also said Europe ran the risk of being struck by a new wave of terrorism, urging greater cooperation by intelligence agencies to stamp out more attacks like the March 2004 Madrid bombings and the July attacks in London.

The Iraqi situation had "greatly increased the influence of radical Islamist ideology", said Bruguiere, one of Europe's leading anti-terrorism investigators.

"The tendency is to leave Europe, not only France, (for) Iraq to fight the U.S. troops and the others," he told Reuters at a conference on weapons of mass destruction organised by Germany's Federal Intelligence Service.

Freepers are going to love this one :sarcasm:

[Mass]

1. Well Bruguieres should know - He has been tracking extremist

Islamists since the 90s.

[sabra]

2. isn't he considered one of the best in the field?

[Mass]

4. He is. He has been doing a great job trying to get the US and Europe

aware of the dangers in the 90s, after France was rocked by a series of bombings.

[Missy M]

3. His observations make total sense!!!