"Those who claim that the war in Iraq is "creating" terrorism imply that not joining in the battle would have made our enemy like us, a dubious proposition."

The war in Iraq isn't creating terrorism, it is creating terrorists. It might seem trivial, but that is a big difference, and glossing over it changes the debate substantially.

The enemy - radical Islam, yes I acknowledge there is a problem between Western secularism and radical Islamism - will not hate us any less if we never entered Iraq. However, now there are more enemies to hate us, and that makes all the difference to our safety. As the NIE said, Iraq is the cause celebre for terrorists. We have given them a recruitment concept, basically.

Part of what is making us less safe is not even that there are more terrorists, but that we are losing international credibility. If you think America is the paragon of virtue it was intended to be / used to be, you are either in willful denial or at worst psychotic.

George Bush was right when he said this is a battle for hearts and minds. However, he hasn't a clue how to fight such a war. If he can't figure out how, it's time to hand over the reigns, because making more terrorists isn't making us safer, even if they are killing us 'over there'.

OOps! You seem to have gotten the Democrat position wrong! So clumsy.

-oppose military action against terrorists

The terrorists that attacked the US were not from Iraq, they were in Afghanistan and from Saudi Arabia, funded from Pakistan. Opposing military action in Iraq has nothing to do with terrorists.

-oppose the interrogation of captured terrorists

Actually, the concept you are struggling with here is called habeas corpus, and is older than the US Constitution. It's a cornerstone of Western justice. "Interrogation" is a clever way to redescribe "torture," which is against the law, and opposed by more than just Democrats.

-oppose the interception of terrorist communications

Actually, that was already legal to do, and not opposed by Democrats. It's the warrantless wiretapping of every person everywhere Democrats oppose.

-oppose the transformation of the repressed and violently intolerant societies that breed terrorism

Dead wrong. And it's obvious the best way to transform THIS violently intolerant society, which has been breeding mew terrorists, is to elect more Democrats!

When you say that Democrats
"-oppose military action against terrorists
-oppose the interrogation of captured terrorists
-oppose the interception of terrorist communications and
-oppose the transformation of the repressed and violently intolerant societies that breed terrorism"...

...you are lying as blatantly as Bush, and Rice, and Cheney have lied. Deliberately demonizing thw other side is a failed strategy, one that implicitly admits the weakness of our side.

When will the GOP wake up to the reality that even Republicans like me are sick and tired of the lies? Doesn't anyone at the RNCC notice the polls?

I keep hearing that Bush, Cheney, and Rice have lied. Please be specific, and please back it up with real evidence. What "lie" exactly has been told? The old "no WMD" story again? Please. EVERYONE, including the major democrats and the UN, believed Saddam to have WMD,and to not act would have been very irresponsible. Despite Joe Wilson's claims, careful reading of his report SUPPORTS the claim that Saddam was pursing nukes. To me, saying that Saddam had WMD, then turning around and saying that Bush "misled" us into Iraq is what is dishonest.

You need a lie? Easy.

Rice: "We were not left a comprehensive strategy to fight Al Queda."

False: Rice's statement is not supported by the 9/11 Report, which describes the plans Clarke drew up and says they were conveyed to Bush's aides, as we noted earlier. The 9/11 Report says that as the Clinton Administration drew to a close in December 2000, Clarke and his staff developed a policy paper on eliminating the al Qaeda threat, "the first such comprehensive effort" since a 1998 plan known as Delenda (p. 197). The Report also says (p. 201): "After Rice requested that all senior staff identify desirable major policy reviews or initiatives, Clarke submitted an elaborate memorandum on January 25, 2001. He attached to it his 1998 Delenda Plan and the December 2000 strategy paper."
(FactCheck.Org)