I can't explain the snickering, but allow me to put in my two cents here.
Nobody thinks Al Queda was plotted and carried out in Iraq. But Iraq was a huge oil rich Middle East nation, with a madman at the helm who was known to befriend anyone and everyone who hated America, and who was hell bent to use his country's oil wealth to develop nuclear weapons.
Was he on the verge of bombing New York in a few months? No, and nobody ever said he was. Was he within a few years of handing off nukes to Al Queda or similar groups to be deployed in our cities? Yes.
Good points. And we should use post #144 to debunk this BS before the MSM regurgitates it even more.