LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Al Qaeda: U.S
built 657 days ago
Iraq is, of course, another critical battlefield in the fight against al Qaeda. But it is time to recognize that engagement there is more of a trap than an opportunity for the United States. Al Qaeda and Iran both want Washington to remain bogged down in the quagmire. Al Qaeda has openly welcomed the chance to fight the United States in Iraq. U.S. diplomacy has certainly been clumsy and counterproductive, but there is little point in reviewing the litany of U.S. mistakes that led to this disaster. The objective now should be to let Iraqis settle their conflicts themselves.
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There are many problems in Iraq beyond Al Qaeda. Sectarianism within the government and the security forces continues to pose a significant challenge. Iranian influence is large and dangerous. Muqtada Sadr's return to public life adds more complexity to an already complex political situation. U.S. commanders and civilian leaders are working on these issues, but success cannot be guaranteed.
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The notion that a Shiite-Kurdish-dominated government would tolerate Iraq becoming a safe haven for al Qaeda is improbable on its face. Even if U.S. troops left Iraq, the successor government would continue to be dominated by Kurds and Shiites, since they make up more than 80 percent of Iraq's population. And, in marked contrast to the situation under Saddam Hussein, they now control the military and police.
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In January 2007 the U.S. military launched air raids on suspected al-Qaeda hideouts in southern Somalia from the Combined Joint Task Force–Horn of Africa, which was based in Djibouti. The base from which the raids were launched, Camp Lemonier, was the only official U.S. military presence in Africa. Djibouti Pres.
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U.S. officials admit they erred in detaining a German citizen as an al Qaeda suspect. He was held for five months in an Afghan prison. New York Times reporter David Johnston says Condoleezza Rice, then national security advisor, ordered the prisoner's release.
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Analysts believe that al Qaeda has expressed an increasing interest in the Arab-Israeli conflict for a number of reasons, one of which is their major setbacks in Iraq. Their tactics of beheading and mass murder of innocent civilians have not been popular with the majority of Iraqis, and their leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi was killed by a U.S. air attack two months ago.
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