I thought it was obvious that I was being extreme on purpose
Ok, try this - pre-invasion, did you predict, or could you have predicted, that Iraq would have been in the state it is now?
Trying to predict what might have happened under different circumstances is a fool's game, there are simply too many variables. If Karl Rove had been hit by a truck....
And do you really, truly believe that we are in a "war of civilizations"?? I didn't realize that radical extremists counted as a civilization.
Also, can you back up your claim that the "war" as you call it was only recognized after 9/11? Seems to me there have been violent acts committed by extremists for a long time.