Vice President Biden at the swearing in ceremony of Leon Panetta as director of the CIA (via memeorandum):
Mr. Biden said the new president’s actions “reverse the policies that in my view and the view of many in this agency caused America to fall short of its founding principles and which gave Al Qaeda a powerful recruiting tool.â€
Apparently no one informed Al Qaeda members in Iraq last year of that.
A growing number of foreign fighters are leaving or attempting to flee Iraq as U.S. and Iraqi forces have weakened al-Qaeda and forced its members from former strongholds, U.S. military officials say.
The trend reflects a broad disenchantment among foreign fighters, particularly since al-Qaeda has lost sanctuaries in parts of Baghdad and Anbar, a Sunni province west of the capital, U.S. military intelligence officials say.
Fighting back effectively actually discourages the Jihadis.
Crossposted on Soccer Dad.
