George Bush, what better friend could a terrorist ask for?

The invasion was seen as an attack on Muslims as a whole by at least some Muslims in every country, who are willing and able to construct and deliver bombs. From the moment foreign armies were ordered into Iraq, al-Qa'ida was bound to be the winner.

US spokesmen have long blamed al-Qa'ida for every attack in Iraq but in fact the Salafi, proponents of a puritanical and bigoted variant of Sunni Islam, and the Jihadi, willing to wage holy war, belong to many groups,

The al-Qa'ida of Osama bin Laden was a surprisingly weak organisation in Afghanistan and Pakistan before 2001.

The war in Iraq has brought the Muslim extremists something that they desperately needed to increase recruitment, proof that the west and America is trying to destroy Islam.

They had little difficulty in pointing to the war as an example of hate filled aggression toward their Muslim brothers and sisters. We bombed, and continue to bomb, civilians by the thousands. We stormed a country that had nothing to do with the attack on America, and used false charges to make the case to our own citizens. Our country lied so that they could wage war on a Muslim country.

But the people of Iraq knew all along that the war was waged on false pretenses, and that meant it was an unprovoked attack on a country of Muslims by a country of Christians. What better recruiting tool could there be, for an organization that is determined to destroy America?

I would not be surprised if al-Qaeda leaders did not have a poster of George Bush right up on the wall alongside Osama Bin Laden.

Could not have done it without you George.