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Prevailing wisdom has long recognized that the United States, by creating a chaos-fueled insurgency in Iraq, has established that country as the premier training ground for terrorism. Just how valuable a training ground is becoming increasingly apparent. Anthony Cordesman, an expert on counter-terrorism with the Washington-based Center for Strategic & International Studies, has identified 39 major adaptations in the tactics and capabilities of the Iraqi insurgency.

What jihadists could only learn in theory in bin Laden's Afghanistan camps, they can now learn by doing in Iraq. Indeed, expertise in such fine arts as roadside bombing has now shown up in Afghanistan, put into practice by the Taliban. Thus is the circle completed.