Al-Qaida tied to Iraqi Baathists in Syria?

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- U.S. intelligence officials worry the Syrian border with Iraq will become a terrorist safe haven like the Pakistani tribal areas, an intelligence review stated.

U.S. military commanders in Iraq said recently that the al-Qaida franchise there is taking on more of a national characteristic as pools of foreign recruits run dry.

But U.S. intelligence officials who spoke with the online Long War Journal said the Syrian border with Iraq remains a top security challenge.

"A major concern is that eastern Syria will begin to look like northwestern Pakistan," the official said on condition of anonymity.

The Journal report says al-Qaida in Iraq is turning to disenfranchised Sunni elements and members of the deposed Iraqi Baath Party to threaten the government in Baghdad.

The report suggests al-Qaida leaders in Syria played a role in the massive suicide operations that rocked the Iraqi capital in August and October. Al-Qaida claimed responsibility for both attacks, while Baghdad pointed to Baathist elements in Damascus as the planners of the operations.

Military officials suggested al-Qaida has now established a working relationship with members of the Baath Party fighting against Iraq.

"There's still a small foreign element to al-Qaida," said U.S. Army Gen. Ray Odierno, the top military commander in Iraq. "There are some who used to be Sunni rejectionists or ex-Baathists who are involved in this because of course they don't want the government to succeed."