Was 911 before or after the war in Iraq Lindy? How many attacks have been carried out on American soil since 911? When was the first terrorist attack on the twin towers (the one that did far less damage)? How many Naval ships have been blown up by terrorists on Bush's watch?

The supposed number of terrorists in Iraq is cause for great concern and a reason to rethink Iraq strategy. It does not by any means prove Bush's strategy is inferior to Clinton's when it comes to protecting the US. It is currently a wash when it comes to protecting American lives as we have lost a similar number of American lives under both strategies. Both have to be judged failures at this point in time in reducing the number of terrorists. However, a case can be made that Bush has greatly reduced the ability of terrorists to attack on American soil. It's not a great case because we could simply be lucky, but that is what the final outcome data shows. It is also certain that you can't keep increasing the number of terrorists without eventually increasing the risk of preventive measures failing.