US war on Iraq didn’t weaken Al Qaeda: Rand

The influential Washington-based think tank Rand Corporation says the war on terror has run off track since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and despite some successes could use some redirecting now.

Missteps include failing to negotiate with the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001, and launching the Iraq war, which did little to weaken Al Qaeda, the authors say in a book released Tuesday.

The RAND Corporation book comes out just as the Senate meets to confirm a new nominee for the National Counterterrorism Center, which was created to help share intelligence and stop another terror attack. The nominee is career Justice Department lawyer, Matthew Olsen, who is currently general counsel for the eavesdropping National Security Agency. RAND says intelligence sharing is one of the areas where the US has improved.

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