WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- The CIA conducted a secret role-playing exercise in Virginia involving 75 participants to investigate what would happen if the United States fails in Iraq.
CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield told The Washington Times the two-day simulation was conducted by the CIA's Office of Terrorism Analysis and took place in northern Virginia but would not discuss its findings.
However, a source familiar with the project who didn't want to be identified told the Times that CIA analysts and outside specialists participated and the verdict was that al-Qaida would view a U.S. failure as a victory for the holy war against a superpower.
"Imagine what defeat in Iraq would do," the source said. "Al-Qaida picks new targets after it thinks it's won."
The findings of the simulation have not been finalized and will be circulated within the intelligence community and possibly to U.S. policy-makers, the newspaper said.
