Report claiming 'war on terrorism' success now found to be a crock
The State Department said on Thursday its April 29 report that the number of international "terrorist" attacks and resulting deaths fell last year was wrong and both figures had in fact risen.
The admission dented the claim by some U.S. officials that the report provided evidence that Washington was winning the "war on terrorism," whose success is critical to President Bush's reelection strategy.
When the report was released, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said it provided "clear evidence that we are prevailing in the fight" while State Department coordinator for counterterrorism Cofer Black hailed its "good news."
Secretary of State Colin Powell denied claims the numbers were manipulated for political benefit.
In reviewing the data, the Terrorist Threat Integration Center found preliminary indications that there was a sharp increase over the previous year in incidents and resulting deaths.
[If you missed this item, it is possibly because former president Reagan's "Weekend at Ronnie's" endless funerary rites were hogging the news-o-taiment shows.]
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