I know you are too smart to have believed that invading Iraq would make us safer, and this report confirms your intelligence.

Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, President Bush has been able to deflect criticism of his counterterrorism policy by repeatedly noting the absence of any new domestic attacks and by citing the continuing threat that terrorists in Iraq pose to U.S. interests.

But this line of defense seemed to unravel a bit yesterday with the release of a new National Intelligence Estimate that concludes that al-Qaeda "has protected or regenerated key elements of its Homeland attack capability" by reestablishing a haven in Pakistan and reconstituting its top leadership. The report also notes that al-Qaeda has been able "to recruit and indoctrinate operatives, including for Homeland attacks," by associating itself with an Iraqi subsidiary.

My headline may seem to be an effort to garner some good will from the visitors to this site, but in fact it is just a statement of fact that most thinking Americans knew that invading Iraq was not a decision that was gong to keep us safer at home.

Do you remember how you felt when you heard the news? Did you sort of get that stunned feeling that this did not make any sense, quickly followed by the hope that the White House had some information that maybe you did not have access to?

But then as time wore on you realized that they did not have any real intelligence to support the reason given for this attack, and did you not get the sinking feeling that America had just murdered thousands of innocent people who did not pose a threat of any kind to us?

And then, of course, came the anger. And if you are like me that has been your constant companion for almost five years. And every time you read a report that supports your initial instincts about the Iraq war it serves to fan the flames of your anger even more.

And then the questions start. If we were smart enough to know that the reason for the war was bullshit, then how come our political leaders were not? I don't mean Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and the rest of their ilk, since they are clearly evil. I mean the Senators and Congressmen who did not have the courage to ask the obvious questions. And if they were too stupid to have seen that this thing was a monstrous mistake why are they still being allowed to make the decisions for our country?

In a perfect world we would replace every single Senator and Congressman who supported this war. I might be willing to give a pass to those who admit that they were mistaken (Like John Edwards), since they at least demonstrate the ability to learn from their mistakes, but everybody else should be removed so they can cause us no more harm.