CIA Officer's Book Contends US Losing Terror War

CIA Officer's Book Contends US Losing Terror War
VOA News
24 Jun 2004, 15:34 UTC

A new book by a senior Central Intelligence Agency officer says the United States is losing the war on terrorism and that the invasion of Iraq only strengthened the position of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

The author of the book Imperial Hubris is identified as "anonymous" and is still serving in the CIA's counter-terrorism department. He is described as running the hunt for Osama bin Laden from 1996 to 1999.

His book contends the war on terror is failing because U.S. leaders do not understand the real enemy is a worldwide Islamic insurgency, not just al-Qaida.

The book says Saddam Hussein posed no threat to the United States. It also says the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, which is home to holy sites for Islam, inadvertently backed Osama bin Laden's claims the United States is at war against Muslims.