No, Iraq has nothing to do with the War on Terror.
U.S. Snags Al Qaeda No. 2’s Letter to Zarqawi – FOX News
The United States has intercepted a letter from the No. 2 Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri (search) to the terror network’s leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Pentagon officials told FOX News. The letter says that Muslim terrorists have developed a detailed plan for creating an Islamic state centered on Iraq and including neighboring countries as well as the destruction of Israel.
But the following is the attitude of one of our nation’s supposed leaders about Iraq.
“Today was an opportunity for the President to be candid with the American people about the status of democracy in Iraq, and when he will bring our troops home. Instead, the President offered little more than empty rhetoric, claiming that Iraq is the central front in the war on terror — a position that is simply not supported by the facts.” — Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), would-be Speaker of the House.
A reminder of what the President said yesterday.
The terrorists regard Iraq as the central front in their war against humanity. And we must recognize Iraq as the central front in our war on terror.
[T]he militants believe that controlling one country will rally the Muslim masses, enabling them to overthrow all moderate governments in the region, and establish a radical Islamic empire that spans from Spain to Indonesia. With greater economic and military and political power, the terrorists would be able to advance their stated agenda: to develop weapons of mass destruction, to destroy Israel, to intimidate Europe, to assault the American people, and to blackmail our government into isolation.
The letter from al-Zawahiri shows that President Bush knows the stakes in this global war and has the facts on his side. Yet the “loyal opposition” would rather criticize and demean the war effort than outline a plan to protect Americans against the worldwide threat of Islamic fascism.
Again I ask, is the Democratic Party an “enabler” of our enemy, just as they were with the Communists during the Cold War? So far that is the only clear message the LibDems are giving to the public.
UPDATE: Third suspect in NYC subway terror plot arrested…. in Iraq – ABC News.com
Alarmed by the informant’s report of a plot to attack city subways with as many as 19 bombs in bags and possibly baby strollers, U.S. forces in Iraq arrested two suspected plotters who had been under close surveillance until Thursday morning, officials said. The third escaped until his arrest Friday.
Meantime, in Washington DC today, the Rayburn House office building was evacuated due to a suspected bomb threat, and the Washington Monument and streets around it were cleared due to a possible threat. Luckily nothing happened at either place.
UPDATE TWO:Omar at IraqTheModel reports that Zarqawi is defying the instruction in the letter from al-Zawahiri and will continue to target Iraqi civilians who work toward democracy.
Zarqawi said that Islam doesn’t distinguish between people on the basis of civilian vs. military but on the basis of Muslim vs. kaffir (infidel) and that “an infidel’s blood should be spilled regardless of his occupation or position unless he had a treaty or a promise of peace”.
-Bruce (GayPatriot)