Class of '05 problem

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The United States Central Intelligence Agency defines the Class of '05 problem as the possibility that Western dissidents could become insurgents in postwar Iraq and use the fighting as an opportunity for military training against the United States and its allies, increasing the likelihood and magnitude of future terrorist attacks. The New Republic summarizes the problem thus:

a Parisian or Milanese jihadist wannabe can now learn online which mosque in Syria to visit in order to meet the right middleman to smuggle him into Iraq, where Anbar province-based terrorist cells are eager for new recruits. Once in Iraq, he can learn all about remote-detonated improvised explosive devices and urban combat—extremely valuable skills for him to take back home, where he can pass them along to his associates. In May, classified CIA and State Department analyses warned about the serious threat that such terrorist "bleed out" from Iraq poses to U.S. national security.[1]

Some view Iraq's attractiveness to Jihadists as a benefit: proponents of the flypaper theory argue that luring militants into one place where friendly forces are concentrated makes them easier to find, attack, and defeat.