Do all of your questions face backward? What if it were 100% provable to every American that "Iraq has made us less safe"? What if you could convince every voter that Iraq has "hindered the fight against al-Qaeda"? How would you have the U.S. act differently tomorrow? Or is U.S. foreign policy irrelevant to your motive for asking these questions? Suggestion: put your agenda aside for the moment. Frame some questions about what the U.S. should do now. And let's hope it's something more than inviting the Schroeders and Chiracs to dinner.
Al Gruber
Detroit, Mich.

Reminder to you right-wing, ultra-conservative self-righteous nuts: Iraq was not a threat to the U.S. They were crippled. Bush ran his first campaign on "not being the world's police"—when his WMD lies were exposed, he suddenly was interested in protecting Iraqis from their own leadership. When will the lies stop?
Jon Smallwood
Richmond, Va.

To answer your question, we have enormusly hurt al-Qaeda, most of their leaders are in jail and the infrastructure is destroyed, but if the media weren't so against this war and showed more than just death, the terrorist recruits would realize what good we are doing and they won't murder their own people.
Michael Starr
Naperville, Ill.

You have a proven genocidal maniac, who may or may not have WMD. He refuses to allow international inspectors to perform security checks. Am I missing something here? How can you not step in to that situation and do something!? Sure, it turned out Saddam didn't have nukes, but better to invade a fascist without nukes than to not invade one with WMDs. Bush was dealt a rough hand, but played it the best he could. In 50 years when he's long dead and I am old and gray, history books will say that this was the first step to stabilizing the Middle East.
Bob B.
Columbus, Ohio

President Bush made the right decision to fight Iraq, the reason so many insurgents keep fighting us is because they know if they lose then the war on terror loses! God bless President Bush, we will defeat the terrorists and bin Laden will be destroyed with his evil and inhuman network! God bless democracy!
Martin Wilkins
Salt Lake City, Utah

And I thought the reason we went to Iraq was because Saddam was "a big a threat as Hitler 1933", with WMD, etc. Turns out it was for freedom. Lets keep changing the reasons for invading whenever the whole thing becomes too unpopular or the people actually bother to hold their politicians accountable. That was the lesson of Vietnam: Lie and keep on lying just like that other Texan President (Johnson) and that gangster Nixon did.
Philip Tsoukias
Houston, Texas

Since it has been proven by now that Iraq was not the epicenter or even the periphery of al-Qaeda, we are inevitably led to the conclusion that the war only ignited sentiments of injustice and possibly became the "alibi" of the terrorists for further hideous attacks.
Kostas Xafis
Xolos, Greece

Do you know what "spitting to the sky" is? That is the real issue here. Bush doesn't get the idea that what you do to others will happen to you, or in this case your country, sooner or later. My heart goes to everyone who has suffered from this "fight against terror".
Patricia
Monterrey, Mexico

All I know is Iran is the happiest they've ever been. A Shi'a revolution next door, a belligerent superpower to blame their problems on, they've got the keys to the nuclear car and the U.S. is too busy making a friendly fundamentalist Shi'a government for them in Iraq to threaten [invasion]. Does George Bush play poker? He certainly doesn't play chess.
Ben Gray
Perth, Australia

The war in Iraq has hindered our fight against terrorism in the following ways: First, it was an untimely diversion from the site of the true fight. Second, the diversion of money and military resources leave us as sitting ducks here at home. Third, we are losing the war to a bunch of terrorists—look at what that tells the world.
Andy Vachss
San Carlos, Calif.

Reminder to you liberal idiots: During the early stages of U.S. involvment in World War II, there were large Allied troop losses and the German war machine was advancing ... you are right, we should have stayed out of that one also.
John Prifrel
Richmond, Va.

The war in Iraq is Osama's dream come true. The Bush administration has spent hundreds of billions of dollars and tens of thousands of lives to help terrorist organizations recruit. The Bush team is so completely incompetent is it like they are working for the terrorists instead of for the American people.
Jacques
Royersford, Pa.

If you have to ask this leading question, someone there has lost his marbles. Take good care of yourself, lest you cause more damage to your head and shoot yourself in your own foot.
Vincent
Thailand

If we don't kill them in Iraq, we will have to fight them on the streets and roads of Pittsburgh.
Thomas Snyder
Pittsburgh, Pa.

We are just breeding more terrorists. The longer we stay the more there will be. This war will be a huge drain on the U.S. until it is over.
Todd Salley
Shreveport, La.

How can it help or hinder a terrorist group that swaps one life for a great number of other innocent lives not armed. They are cowards! Let us not forget 9/11 and who planed it! Keep cutting the head off the snake until the snake no longer exists. God bless all the soldiers that fight against the fanatics that kill the innocent.
Andy Reasor
Matteson, Ill.

It would be easy to point fingers and blame those in the past and present. Make one thing clear, the day we lost one of our own countrymen to terrorism, this war was pronounced. The future is undetermined, but we must stick with what is right, and we cannot let those lost die in vain.
Paul M.
Sioux Falls, S.D.

Retired General Wesley Clark was correct. The Iraq invasion was a huge "strategic blunder". An intelligent president would have devised a strategy to demoralize the terrorists instead of energizing them. Bush did exactly what bin Laden wanted; he liberated the terrorists in Iraq and gave them a rallying point. Formerly, religious zealots were being beaten down and oppressed by Saddam's evil regime. The terrorists should send Bush a thank-you letter for giving them their freedom in Iraq.
Dave
Manchester, N.H.

Your question should be inverted to, "Has ignoring previous terrorist attacks helped or hindered the ability of America to protect her own interests?" The 1993 World Trade Center attack, two African Embassy bombings and the attack on the USS Cole were all terrorist attacks for which there was no response. Fear of war during the Clinton administration paralyzed the U.S. The war in Iraq is the right message to the worst of murderous thugs! As Winston Churchill so aptly noted, "Those who appease the crocodile will simply be eaten last."
Tom Stockum
Akron, Ohio

A war with the al-Qaeda terrorists would help much more.
Shanea Ma
Portland, Ore.

The war on Iraq has hindered the fight against al-Qaeda. It was supposed to the the war on terror and al-Qaeda. Occupying Iraq is not the original fight that we intended to fight. We are fighting the wrong war and the terror is spreading—currently in the UK.
Raja Halaharivi
San Jose, Calif.

U.S. and its citizens (inside the U.S.) must realize that people of other countries are tagging the U.S. of A. as a bully. Yes, terrorism is there it has been there in India since ages and in many a other countries, but going to fight Saddam on pretext of WMD and now saying it was for terrorism is not of much help. War in Iraq may end the way Vietnam ended for the U.S. or it may be worse (I doubt it will be better). I oppose terrorism but I would kill an insect in my home [instead of] going to my neighbor (without his permission) and killing an insect there (just think of it!).
Raj
Delhi, India

The war in Iraq is like a pesticide. It will eventually force all of the bugs (terrorists) to come to the surface, and when they do, they will be squashed by the hands of freedom.
Janet Thorning
Canada

Our country has had several attacks by terrorists directly or indirectly, and it is about time we put a stop to it. Former presidents didn't want to do anything about it, but we have one now who says enough is enough. I am amazed that people think we can accoumplish this fight without military force. These [terrorist] people only know strength and prey on the weak. We haven't been attacked since because I believe they know we have a tough leader and respect that. I think the war in Iraq is proving that!
Linda
Brodhead, Wisc.

The war in Iraq has helped fight the war on terrorism the same way giving away drugs and drug paraphernalia would help in the war on drugs! But as long as half the country remains immune to thinking, we'll keep making ourselves "safer" in countries like Iraq.
Russell Smith
New Jersey

I've always said that invading Iraq was like hitting a wasps' nest with a baseball bat. Bush has actually caused the violence in the world to spread.
James Schroeder
Patchogue, N.Y.

I'm not sure, as I always wonder if those insurgents who are carrying out terrorist attacks in Iraq would be here in the U.S. if they weren't attacking our soldiers over there. But whatever I think, I believe that all people who are protesting the war are fueling the insurgents to fight on. They know how the Vietnam war ended and are aware that if they can sustain attacks, no matter how much we weaken them, that public opinion in the U.S. will help them win.
Joe Bevino
Trumbull, Conn.

The war in Iraq has and will help the war on terrorism. The cockroaches (terrorists) now know that at least the U.S. will come after them no matter where they are, so some of them might change their mind about meeting Allah and collecting on their "virgins".
Lance Elkins
Georgia

In my opinion Iraq was not involved with al-Qaeda, and the consequences of the war there could suggest that the Iraq, like Tito and Yugoslavia, needed someone like Saddam in power to keep it stable. Now it's essentially a lawless vacuum and is sucking in terrorists to fill the void.
G.J. Wood
United Kingdom

This is a horrible and horribly "leading" question in the wake of tragedy. Shameful!
Alan Murdock
Nashville, Tenn.

I read, in TIME I think, that France's president Chirac had personnally warned Bush that an unfounded war in Iraq would create "lots of little bin Ladens". Well, that's what we see.
B. Lambret
Paris, France

The war in Iraq is not about al-Qaeda but rather about human rights and liberty. It's about a new world order in the middle east that should have been done a long time ago. Ridding it of despots and instituting civilized political and social systems.
Don Cooper
Timisoara, Romania

They are intertwined. Rather kill them in Iraq then in Los Angeles.
J. Weaver
San Diego, Calif.

The war in Iraq is equivalent to buying aspirin to treat lung cancer—Iraq being the aspirin, al-Qaeda the cancer.
Azhar Kasman
Singapore

Our war against Iraq has been an unmitigated failure, and has probably helped Al-Qaeda in their efforts to recruit new members. The war has been an utter total failure, and the U.S. needs to get out of there. President Bush is the worst president the U.S. has had in the last 100 years, maybe one of the worst ever.
Martin Thistle
Renton, Wash.

I think Mr. Blair lost his honesty and people, of course invading Iraq hindered the fight against terrorism.
Feng
Beijing, China

Hindered. Al-Qaeda attacks our Western cities and we have used vast resources in Iraq that have not been available to find and fight Al-Qaeda. They have gotten stronger.
Marsha S.
Chicago, Ill.

Everyday we see the disastrous consequences of the war in Iraq. If the Administration had succeeded in diffusing al-Qaeda years ago instead of finding itself distracted by Bush's fiasco in Iraq, then thousands of lives—including those of American soldiers, Iraqi civilians, and Londoners—could have been spared.
David Gokhin
Green Brook, N.J.

Of course, it's hindered the fight against Al-Qaeda and encouraged fanatics to become "honorable" suicide bombers! This is a no-brainer question, TIME.
Violet Cauthon
Las Cruces, N.M.

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