The biggest strategic error that we made in Iraq at the beginning of the occupation was disbanding the civil service and the military. When we did that, their entire civil society collapsed, creating a situation where terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda could move in and thrive. Had we kept Iraq's institutions in place, the war would have certainly turned out much differently. The situation would have been stabilized much more quickly and civil war MIGHT have been averted, although there's no telling how the political situation would have played out

The arrival of the terrorist groups into Iraq back in 2004 created extra violence. The terrorists, regarded as foreign fighters by many, started to pit the Shia's against the Sunni's by perpetuating terrorist attacks in Shia territories. The tide started turning against al-Qaeda in Iraq only after the United States directly began to bribe Sunni leaders into fighting and getting rid of these groups. The "surge" did contribute somewhat to the improved security situation in Iraq, but the former was the key factor in turning around Iraq's security situation.

Foreign terrorism is on the ropes in Iraq, but now it's up to the Iraqi forces to see if they can secure the nation themselves.

I think all this war has managed to do is cause nothing but sadness and heartbreak, and it all could have been avoided.

Terror comes in many shapes and forms, and Saddam Hussein was, without a doubt, a true terrorist. Rape rooms are certaintly a terror. Mass graves are certaintly a terror. Repressing women to the status of livestock is also terribly outdated. And, of course, if you refer to the evil villains like Al Qaeda, Saddam Hussein supported them to. Time after time, Hussein supported actions against American interests both in the Middle East and abroad. And, time after time, he looked the other way as his so-called brothers, attacked the property and citizens of free, democratic nations--even going so far as to signing a non-aggression pack with the killers led by Osama Bin Laden. Even more, over eight THOUSAND terrorists were trained in Iraq, including ones who have attacked not only innocent Iraqis, but Americans as well. Now, aside from making a few people cringe with his sexist remarks from his undisclosed jail cell, Hussein can terrorize no one any longer.

Brilliantly said by GoneAway. They tell us we are making all of this progress on fighting terrorism. But again, can you really fight a literal war, with troops and ivasions, on terrorism? Terrorism is abstract (not saying it doesn't exist, speaking in a philisophical manner, you can't literaly touch, and therefore, fight terrorism). You can fight terrorists, but you can't alltogether defete them.

Sure we've progressed, how could we not? We invaded a nation peopled by a group that are known for fanatacism, and we've killed their children/husbands/brothers/fathers all in the name of freedom. I think every day we progressively make the War On Terror much more difficult, nigh impossible, to win. I think every time we drop a bomb, or abuse a prisoner, we're creating more terrorists. And even if we aren't creating them, we're certainly giving them a reason to focus on the American Homeland.

There is no gentle way to say this- you are a complete imbecile if you believe this war has 'helped' the war on terror.

Fighting the war on terror is a job for counter-espionage types not regular army. This is a big waste of time, money and precious lives.

The War on Terror is a 21st Century war, not a 19th or 20th Century one. Invading nations and capturing organization leaders doesn't help. It takes little effort for anyone with an internet connection and a couple hundred bucks to become a terrorist. We can't make progress in the War on Terror with land invasions anymore than we can make progress in the War on Murder with nuclear weapons.

I guess the real problem with linking the war on terror to Iraq was that Iraq was simply not a terrorist threat before the Iraq war. They were a rogue nation lead by a monster, but they were not committing terrorist acts. Now Iraq is a hotbed for terrorism. My guess is that we will start to see Iraqis as suicide bombers (if we haven't already), even though at the beginning of the conflict it was a well known fact that Iraqi's don't do suicide bombs.