Sorry if this has been posted before...I'm just a curious college kid...

I am curios as to just who it is exactly we are fighting in the war of terror and how we can beat them. I know that we are supposedly fighting Al Queda in Iraq but...what about Al Queda other terrorist organizations in the world.

Even if we do "win" against Al Queda in Iraq will that "victory" really make the world safer or will it make us believe that we are safer? What will we do if we are attacked by another terrorist organization...are we going to invade another "terrorist host country"?

Also are we really winning against Al Queda's entire organization or just the portion in Iraq? And what about Al Queda in Africa...what do we do against them?

"Al Qaeda" is not a single entity. It's almost like a franchise, where someone gets the information and just starts calling themselves AQ members. That is regardless of whether or not they even know a single AQ leader, or even another member. There's nothing stopping the local yokels from branding themselves an "AQ" outfit.

Terrorism is the ultimate "wedge issue", you might say. The ideas driving criminals like Bin Laden is to turn nations or groups against each other. In this aspect, the criminals have been wildly successful. In the aftermath of 9/11, the USA burned many of its bridges in wild fury, only a few of which have been repaired.

As for Iraq, well, I don't think anyone here will dispute that the evidence clearly shows that an invasion was in the cards long before 9/11. Given the divergent goals of the Baathist movement and AQ, and the evidence gathered after the invasion & occupation of Iraq, it's safe to conclude that "AQ" in Iraq was only loosely affiliated with the same AQ in Afghanistan/Pakistan, and even then, by a "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" aspect.

It's my frank opinion that Iraq always has been about securing the world's largest supply of cheaply-extracted oil, and installing a compliant government that will keep the USA at the head of the line when it comes time to buy a few barrels. The political gains made by the GOP in 2004 were simply icing on the cake.

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Member of the vast Radical Middle conspiracy.