The mainstream media nd the Democrats are having a party with this:
Quote Originally Posted by NIE Report
The Iraq conflict has become the "cause celebre" for jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of US involvement in the Muslim world and cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement.
But yet the Media is convienently ignoring this:

Quote Originally Posted by NIE Report
Should jihadists leaving Iraq perceive themselves, and be perceived, to have failed, we judge fewer fighters will be inspired to carry on the fight.
Leaked NIE Report

Why is this important? And why a new thread? Because it is important to recognize that Iraq is an integral part of the War against Terrorism.

We in the West have chosen the battleground, rather than allowing the terrorists to choose the battleground.

And when we win in Iraq and bring stability and prosperity to the country, the Jihadists will face a great setback.

Does anybody remember this:

Pentagon: Bin Laden deputy complains about money, Iraq tactics
U.S. says it obtained intercepted letter
From Jamie McIntyre
CNN

Friday, October 7, 2005; Posted: 2:50 a.m. EDT (06:50 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An intercepted letter from Osama bin Laden's deputy to the al Qaeda leader in Iraq complains that the terrorist network is short of cash and faces defeat in Afghanistan, a Pentagon spokesman says.

The United States obtained a recent letter that appears to be from Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's No. 2 figure, to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, outlining both the strategy and concerns of the terrorist network, said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman.

In the letter, al-Zawahiri warns that some of the tactics currently employed by the insurgency, including the slaughtering of hostages and the suicide bombings of Muslim civilians, may risk alienating the "Muslim masses," Whitman said Thursday.

Reading from a summary of the letter, Whitman said al-Zawahiri concedes that al Qaeda has lost many key leaders, is resigned to defeat in Afghanistan, and that its lines of communication and funding sources have been seriously disrupted. Al-Zawahiri includes a plea for financial support, indicating he is strapped for money, Whitman said.
And this is interesting:

As War Over Leak Grips Washington, Al Qaeda Quails

By ELI LAKE - Staff Reporter of the Sun
September 27, 2006

WASHINGTON — On a day when much of the capital's attention was focused on leaked excerpts of an intelligence estimate report that suggested the Iraq war was creating more jihadists, the military quietly released an intercepted letter from Al Qaeda complaining that the terrorist organization was losing ground in Iraq.

The letter, found in the headquarters of Al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi, after he was killed on June 7, was sent to Zarqawi by a senior Al Qaeda leader who signs his name simply "Atiyah." He complains that Al Qaeda is weak both in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region and in Iraq.
http://www.nysun.com/article/40461

It is clear that the NIE leak was a timed political hitjob by the Democratic leadership which failed to note the breadth of the report and the status of Iraq as integral to the War on Terror.

Clearly: victory in Iraq is absolutely essential to broader success in the Global War against Terrorism. This is something the Democrats deny, avoid, and refute whenever possible. Iraq is the central battelfield. And it is better that it occurs in Iraq and involving our military than here on Western soil involving our civilians. This is a war gentleman. We can not go back to sleep and pursue a law enforcement strategy against terrorists as the Democrats would do again.

Show courage and resolution. Do not make the error of leaders past with a policy of appeasement.