Brit says Iraq war bad for Terrorism

Middle East Online was quick to cover this:

Report: Iraq war affects anti-terrorism negatively

British ex-intelligence adviser warns that terrorists are upgrading after facing well-equipped troops.

BRUSSELS - The US-led invasion of Iraq has had a negative impact on efforts to stop Islamic terror groups such as Al-Qaeda, a former senior British intelligence official said Tuesday. Dame Pauline Neville-Jones, the former chairman of Britain's Joint Intelligence Committee, told a conference on terrorism in Brussels that the West's record in the fight against terror was "not very good."

There may be some credence to this statement; there is no doubt that terrorist attacks have spiked within Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion. However, doesn't this assertion fly in the face of those who cite Iraq's "Civil War" as proof that we should not be involved in the conflict?

Is it civil war, terrorism, or both? Opponents of the war should not rush to bolster this claim, for it undermines their position. A war opponent will only further display their perfidy by supporting a view that runs contradictory to their own claims.

Furthermore, despite claims that American involvement in Iraq has worsened terrorism, the qualities that have allowed for such radical violence existed before the U.S. arrived in Iraq. The ineffectual governments in power in the Middle East have allowed for Islamic Fascism to breed. Madrassas, calls for Jihad, Corrupt leaders, lack of employment opportunities, sexual repression, and a culture of death are primarily responsible for terrorism's spread, not the United States.