DOES IT GIVE THEM MASSAGES, TOO? "Little more than a year ago, Al Qaeda's core command was thought to be in a financial crunch," reports the LA Times. Thankfully, we've solved that. "U.S. officials said that Al Qaeda's command base in Pakistan is increasingly being funded by cash coming out of Iraq, where the terrorist network's operatives are raising substantial sums from donations to the anti-American insurgency as well as kidnappings of wealthy Iraqis and other criminal activity. The influx of money has bolstered Al Qaeda's leadership ranks at a time when the core command is regrouping and reasserting influence over its far-flung network. The trend also signals a reversal in the traditional flow of Al Qaeda funds, with the network's leadership surviving to a large extent on money coming in from its most profitable franchise, rather than distributing funds from headquarters to distant cells." Let's be clear: Not only has the Iraq War offered immense recruitment, PR, and training benefits to al-Qaeda, but it has emerged as a primary funding source for the leadership. At what point do we give up and admit George W. Bush is a jihadist plant? --Ezra Klein
