So Gene's big objection now is that the plan is risky, and might not work?
Doesn't seem any worse than the old plan of "let Saddam Hussein remain in power, lift the sanctions, and see what happens".
Part of the reason terrorism hasn't left Iraq yet is because the country has been in a chaotic transition period. As these elections build the confidence of the public, and as the Iraqi security forces continue their training and their real-world experience, and as the opportunity to influence events in Iraq through violence against civilians passes, terrorism will leave Iraq as well.
Another part of the reason has to do with the idea of influencing events through terrorism. One of the main reasons terrorism came to Iraq in the first place was because it was in a chaotic transition period. This was an ideal time for terrorists to do everything in their power to disrupt the progress of the Iraqi people from an oppressed people to free citizens in a democratic regime. So naturally, the fighting has been very intense. The fighting will continue to be intense until it is clear that no amount of suicide bombing will deter the Iraqi people and the coalition forces from establishing a democratic regime in Iraq.
As long as Gene and others continue to preach that some amount of terrorism will lead to victory for the terrorists, the terrorists will continue to believe that public opinion is on their side, and that their attacks will ultimately succeed.
Terrorists weren't "operating" in Iraq because it was under the rule of a despotic madman. Terrorists don't operate in the U.S. because the U.S. is a democratic regime. Terrorists operate in Iraq right now because it is in the middle of the transition from one to the other. The terrorists want to stop this transition by killing people in horrible ways until they give up.
That aside, we do know that Abu Nidal and other major terrorist figures, including top Al Qaeda members, were in contact with officials in Hussein's regime, and that several of them were living in Iraq--in Bagdhad, even--or had lived there at some point during the years immediately prior to the 9/11 attacks.
We also have good evidence that there was at least one Al Qaeda training camp in Iraq.
Given the CIA's track record lately, and the well-known ideological and policy disagreements and feuding between the CIA and the Bush Adminstration, I'm not sure they're the most reliable source of information anyway.
Gene's argument here assumes that only the Bush Administration might spin anything; the CIA, the Democratic leadership, and the media are all straight-shooters who would never try to mislead us for their own ideological purposes.
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