War in Iraq has increased the risk of terrorism against the West, at least for the short term, the International Institute for Strategic Studies has said in its annual report on the world's militaries.

The IISS has added a section on Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network to "The Military Balance," its authoritative yearly defence handbook, which lists the size and capabilities of the world's armed forces.

"Overall, the risk of terrorism to Westerners and Western assets in Arab countries appeared to increase after the Iraq war began in March 2003," it concluded.

"With the military invasion and occupation of Iraq, the United States demonstrated its desire to change the political status quo in the Arab world to advance American strategic and political interests," it said in Tuesday's report.

"Accordingly, the Iraq invasion was always likely in the short term to enhance Jihadist recruitment and intensify al Qaeda's motivation to encourage and assist terrorist operations."

The report also says that although we have been able to stop the flow of some money to Al Qaeda, they are able to hit some targets (such as Madrid) with smaller amounts of funds.

Here's a link to the Editor's Forward for the report, which specifically mentions the US and issues regarding Iraq, such as interoperability problems between allies, readiness for asymetrical warfare, and the "manpower intensive" nature of the post-war environment.

Hmmm... wonder what the White House spin on this one will be? Or maybe they'll just ignore it. Who needs thoughfully researched reports when God is on our side?

¶ 11:21 AM