There's a difference between opposing Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist régime and supporting it. Al Gore never claimed to support Saddam's policies. He was, and remains, fundamentally opposed to what Saddam stood for.

What he said about Iraq becoming a new breeding ground for terror is correct. That is where terror originates from; a place where people are afraid; where they're being occupied by a foreign invader; when they feel weak and there is no other solution in sight.

Iraqis aren't terrorists right now but one day, there may be an Al-Najaf Martyrs Brigade or perhaps Al-Qaeda will open up an Iraq Wing. They'll certainly have the recruits to choose from; any Iraqis who lose loved ones through "friendly fire" or "collateral damage" will surely pick up the torch and join the cause of the insidious terror movement.

Don't you see that by bombing a country, you aren't winning their "hearts and minds"? No matter if you promise them colour TV and a camel in every driveway, they're still going to hate you until you withdraw from their sovereign territory. 90+ percent of Iraqis hated Saddam but now they've transferred that hatred and it looks like the US wants to be the new bully they love to hate.

Yeah, pass this on indeed....because Al Gore is exactly right. The war in Iraq was the wrong move. Look at the facts. But right-wingers don't like facts, do they? Facts are 'demoralizing'.

Fighting terrorism is not the same as giving contracts to Haliburton and autorizing torture.