A few days ago, Wesley Clark called the war in Iraq a “distraction” from the real war on terror. Fox News may not have liked Clark’s choice of words, but if you want proof of how right he was, consider the first three paragraphs of this article from today’s Philadelphia Inquirer:
With al-Qaeda being linked to three devastating attacks in Turkey and Saudi Arabia in the last two weeks, the group appears to be leaving a new signature as an increasingly decentralized and unpredictable terrorist network that appears harder to fight.
Experts and diplomats said the recent resurgence of al-Qaeda violence also showed that Osama bin Laden’s 14-year-old terrorist fraternity was as lethal as ever, despite the U.S.-led war on terrorism. The organization essentially is reinventing itself to compensate for losses in its ranks, they said.
At the same time, U.S. intelligence officials said, the United States has diverted more than half the personnel and technology that was targeted on al-Qaeda to the war in Iraq.
So let me get this straight, al-Queda — the guys who actually attacked us — is reorganizing, Osama bin Laden is still on the loose, the terrorist network has executed three serious attacks in two weeks, and the United States is focusing its attention away from al-Queda?
I’m at a loss.