[Your comment] That's a plausible deduction.
Except for one thing. We went after bin Laden with all guns blazing. It's Iraq that we haven't hit, eighteen months after the attacks on New York and Washington, even though Bush and Cheney clearly believe Saddam was the ultimate author of those attacks (see, for instance, these collected quotes from Bush at War). But bin Laden never was that important -- he was just a guy who made recruitment videos. For both the United States and Iraq, the über-terrorist Osama Bin Laden is a convenient myth, a myth which is perfectly symbolized by the fiction of his James Bond-style mountain fortress.
Do you see the game both sides are playing here? It's the same game.
No, I don't, and I don't have time to read the whole thread to figure out what you're talking about. Be a peach and give us the version, will you? I won't be back until tomorrow or Sunday, so just ping me if you make a post between now and then that gives the Cliffs Notes summary instead of ending with one of those irritating "Don't-you-see-it?" questions.
If I didn't think your opinion was interesting and well worth reading, I wouldn't have asked, so don't get mad. If you don't feel like summarizing, I'm sure you won't. :-)