Maybe invading Iraq wasn't such a great idea after all.

Good article by Jessica Stern over at Salon (you may have to watch a brief ad to read the article). She concludes with these chilling sentences.

"The war in Iraq has split the allies, not the terrorists. It has turned Iraq into a Mecca for international terrorists, and mobilized local Shiite and Salafi jihadist groups that had previously posed a minimal threat. It has facilitated connections between terrorists and those with formal military experience in Saddam's army, the lethal nightmare that the invasion was supposed to have thwarted. Antipathy toward the United States, not only in Iraq and throughout the entire Islamic world, but in Europe as well, has become a dangerous trend exploited by terrorists. Even as we tout our successes in rounding up al-Qaida terrorists, the broader movement inspired by bin Laden and ignited by the invasion of Iraq is recruiting new nihilist minions throughout the world. The war in Iraq has not only been a distraction from the war on terrorism; it has strengthened our enemies in ways that continue to surprise and horrify us."

It need hardly be mentioned that the Bush administration cannot and will not admit any error in invading Iraq and their future foreign policy, should they win a second term, will presumably involve invading Syria and Iran.