The unasked question

Jessica McBride thinks this should be the dominant media theme on Iraq:

Brit Hume tonight to General David Petraeus:

Would you say that we wouldn't be in the situation we are in today in terms of sectarian violence in Iraq generally had not Al-Qaida been present and active there?

Petraeus: That's correct. That is correct.

Hume: Has this in an ultimate sense turned out to be more than anything else, a war with Al-Qaida?

Petraeus: Well, it is Al-Qaida and associated uh movements I think or affiliates if you will because again the insurgents, until they started flipping more and more certainly throughout the Euphrates river valley and now other areas, certainly were associated with Al-Qaida, at the very least turning a blind eye to them, and at the most in many cases aiding and abetting them.

The unasked question:

General, would Al-Qaida even be in Iraq if US troops had not invaded and occupied the country?

UPDATE: Russ Feingold asks some tough questions about US priorities in fighting terrorism, and gets no answers. Video link here.