National Intelligence Estimate - Correct on Iraq?

This past week, newspapers reported that a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) had concluded that the Iraq War has created more terrorists and hence has contributed to endangering the United States.

Naturally, supporters of the war have doubted the claim, while opponents have largely trumpeted it. These positions, of course, are to be expected, but beyond them, a very serious objective question must be answered - is the report correct? If the Iraq war has indeed created more terrorists, then perhaps it's time to update our strategy there. If, on the other hand, the report erred, then our Armed Forces may be best off by continuing in their current direction. How can we properly evaluate the claim?

Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer has reached an unexpected conclusion to this question in a recent essay. His answer: We don't know if the report is correct or not. But regardless, wars make us less safe, and the only way to restore that safety is through victory.

I agree with Mr. Krauthammer's contention. Taking his outcome further, in fact, I'd argue that the report's accuracy is irrelevant. Regardless of how many jihadists the Iraq war may or may not have created, the fact remains that they fight primarily in Iraq and not in America or anywhere else. The Iraq war, then, prevents terrorism nonetheless by forcing would-be perpetrators to fight our army as opposed to our civilian population elewhere. No matter the NIE report's accuracy, this principle clearly stands.

As a result, no matter how we view the report, we must for the sake of all Americans continue our Iraqi efforts. Ultimately, doing so should create not additonal terrorism, but victory and success.

In related news:

Jihad Watch's Hugh Fitzgerald believes in withdrawing from Iraq. As you can probably guess, I certainly disagree, but I'd like to present his essay due to the remainder of its content - speculation on how to divide and conquer our jihadist enemies. One suggestion: encouraging non-Arab Muslims to reclaim their pre-Islamic cultural identities. Here, I fully agree, and actually wrote an essay arguing this very point several months back. Not sure if Mr. Fitzgerald happened to see it, but it's great to see others on the same strategic page.