“In a major report on terrorism [on July 29, 2004], the foreign affairs committee of the British House of Commons said that ‘Iraq has become a *battleground* for Al-Qaeda, with appalling consequences for the Iraqi people.’ It added, ‘However, we also conclude that the coalition’s failure to bring law and order to parts of Iraq created a vacuum into which criminal elements and militias have stepped.’ ”
– Fawaz A. Gerges, The Far Enemy, Page 265