A security expert has described the Iraq war as a gift for al-Qaeda, providing them with the perfect urban terrorist training ground.
Professor Paul Rogers told delegates at the Royal United Services Institute that the consequences of creating such a theatre for terrorists to hone their skills would "haunt us over the next 20 to 30 years".
He told the conference on politics and terrorism: "Iraq is very slowly becoming something of a Jihadist training zone for a new generation of Jihadists, rather like Afghanistan was in the 1980s against the Soviets.
"You get young Jihadists from Afghanistan travelling to Iraq, getting combats training against the American troops in urban environments and then taking their skills elsewhere."
Prof Rogers, from the Department of Peace Studies at Bradford University, added: "The real gift to al-Qaeda is a long-term urban combat training zone, not a rural one as previously.
"That is going to come back and haunt us over the next 20 to 30 years."
The two-day conference in Whitehall is due to hear from other experts on Islam and counter-terrorism, as well as Home Office minister Hazel Blears. |