One might say, taking the war to the enemy rather than hunkering down and waiting for him to kill some more Americans. A less charitable observer might say "what we are doing there is...saving your butt."
Given the pig-headedness demonstrated (e.g., "the real beneficiaries of this evolution -- should it go as planned -- will be the narrow business interests who will receive contracts based on the reconstruction of Iraq and the extraction of it's oil), I should think the "condescending comments" are totally in order.
But I thought they were already here, their sleeper cells are already here, their weapons of mass destruction are already here.
If those facts are true (and I believe they are, specficially since every govt spokemans who talks about this issue says, "It's not if but when...) then regardless of what we do overthere...we will reap the whirlwind. We need to concentrate on this issue domestically and stop adventuring overseas.