Yes of course they&#x27;re long term goal is a caliphate. But they attacked the US because our presence was a direct obstacle. They didn&#x27;t put suicide bombers in China or Copenhagen or Paris for that matter.<p>Back in 1991 after Saddam invaded Kuwait, I remember thinking &quot;why the hell do we have to solve the problem? Why not force Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf States to take responsibility for their security?&quot;<p>Practically all the Islamist terrorism that the US has experienced since then has flowed from that decision.<p>The likelihood of terrorism should be part of any decision making process when it comes to the Mideast, no different than estimating potential body counts from land invasion.<p>At least Eric Shinseki wasn&#x27;t afraid to estimate the real costs of the Iraq war.