Point of Emphasis... PLEASE!

I'd love to see the administration, others in the GOP, and bloggers start to re-emphasize how the apparent weakness of the USA contributed to terror (including 9/11) and how important it is to show the resolve now that we didn't show then. I know there is a conversation about showing resolve and possible results, but I'd like the historical context emphasized so to help give weight to the argument about what pulling out of Iraq would mean.

For example, Bin Laden was convinced we were a paper tiger. He said that he thought we'd shown all the resolve we had after Somalia. We had made ourselves appear vulnerable, we had actually BECOME vulnerable, so they knew they could strike us.

I think the best reason to go into Iraq was presented in Bush's speech to the UN when he told them that they risked becoming irrelevent (and, they've since proved that they are). To quote no less a luminary than.... well... ME, in this early post from my blog:

I think this is closest to what was really in President Bush's mind when he
decided to go to Iraq. He knew that Al Queda was emboldened by our tepid
responses to their other actions. He knew that Bin Laden thought we showed all
the resolve we had in Somalia, where "Black Hawk Down" led immediately to our
retreat. He knew that Saddam's ability to thumb his nose not only at the UN, but
directly at the U.S.A. emboldened not only terrorists, but other outlaw regimes.
Why would North Korea or Iran take UN resolutions seriously when it was obvious
that you could violate them with no repercussions? Why would they take sanctions
seriously, when it was doubtlessly known that Saddam managed to get around them
and even make a profit despite them? Slapping Saddam down was a "do NOT screw
with US ANYMORE!" moment. And, you know what? It was necessary. We'd become eminently "screw-withable" and the bad guys were taking advantage. Afghanistan was an announcement that we'd get justice for 9/11. Iraq was the announcement that we have officially stopped taking shit.