One by one the excuses for the Iraq war fell by the wayside. WMD. Saddam as a major threat. Setting an example for the rest of the Middle East. Bringing democracy to the Middle East. Preventing civil war. The last flimsy excuse left: “Better to fight the ‘terrorists’ over there, and not here.” Today that excuse was literally blown to pieces. Juan Cole comments [watch ad to read[:
“Conservative commentators argue that Iraq is a “fly trap” for Muslim terrorists. It makes much more sense to think of it as bin Laden’s fly trap for Western troops. There, jihadis can kill them (making the point that they are not invulnerable), and can provoke reprisals against Iraqi civilians that defame the West in the Muslim world. After Abu Ghraib and Fallujah, many Muslims felt that Bin Laden’s dire warnings to them that the United States wanted to occupy their countries, rape their women, humiliate their men, and steal their assets had been vindicated.”