Reality: Al-Qaeda in Iraq has come roaring back to life and is now at its strongest level since the 2007 “Sunni Awakening.”
Via NRO:
New York senator Chuck Schumer has extended the Obama administration’s claims about their efforts against al-Qaeda — which tend to emphasize the damage done to group’s core in Afghanistan and Pakistan, to claim that “al-Qaeda in Iraq and Afghanistan has been decimated.”
While the state of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan is debatable, it’s hardly on the run in Iraq, especially after the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country. A recent break at Abu Graib prison staged by al-Qaeda operatives reportedly led to the escape of “hundreds of terrorists,” while the group is also playing a major role in the Syria conflict. The main jihadist group in Syria, the Nusra Front, is considered by the U.S. government to be a front group for al-Qaeda in Iraq, and just recently spearheaded the rebel capture of a key air base in Syria.
“Al-Qaeda Iraq will emerge stronger as a result of its experiences inside Syria,” one U.S. official warned recently.