Well thanks very much for that Ron.

"you'd be even more welcome if you'd tell us how al-Qaeda is supposed to take over Iraq" - Ron Davies

Where and when did I ever say that al-Qaeda is supposed to take over Iraq Ron? If that is what GWB and McCain are saying then I would suggest that you ask them. This being election year at least the latter should be communicative enough for you to get some sort of answer.

Any fool could see however that premature withdrawal of MNF troops from Iraq would be viewed by Al-Qaeda as a victory for them and a defeat for the US. Would that hearten them? Most certainly. Would that damp down any ambitions that they might have? Very much doubt it. Would it prevent further attempts to strike the US as a supposed root cause would have been removed? Most certainly not.

By the bye just reported by BBC, that the current head of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, al-Masri, has been captured.