Intelligence report on global terror; increase in terror activity

I have some questions for those who seek to use a recent intelligence report to prove that America's liberation of Iraq has caused terrorism to increase:

- Did the killing of Al Zarqawi cause terrorism to increase?

- Did the capture of Muntasir al-Jibouri cause terrorism to increase?

- Did the liberation of Iraq in 2003 cause the attacks of 9-11-01? [John Murtha seems to think so.]

- Did the American liberation of Afghanistan cause terrorism to increase?

- In what country have more Al Qaeda terrorists been captured or killed - Iraq or Afghanistan?

I truly don't know the answer to the last question. But that question needs to be explored before anyone criticizes the Iraq liberation and before anyone refers to the Iraq liberation as somehow separate from the War on Terror.

Quote of the day - Mark Steyn

Remember the Afghan war? On Nov. 7, 2001, the New York Times' Maureen Dowd was sneering at the Northern Alliance for being a lot of useless layabout deadbeats. "They smoke and complain more than they fight," she scoffed. A couple of days later, Kabul fell so swiftly that on Nov. 14 Dowd switched smoothly -- with only the mildest case of columnar whiplash -- to whining that the hitherto layabout Northern Alliance had "embarrassed" us with their "savage force."

Mark Steyn