These new fronts are doing our job for us in that they are creating allies of ours. As long as the enemy focused on Iraq, much of the world was content to look on and simply blame us for the problem of jihadis. We gathered as many allies as we could, but most countries opted out and almost all declined to fight in Iraq.
But defeat in Iraq is sending jihadis elsewhere in greater numbers where the local security forces must become our allies out of self-interest. Though such a government and people may think our liberation of Iraq and defense of a democratically elected government there is wrong, they will defend themselves against the same enemies who attack them at home rather than kill in Iraq.
Consider that Saudi Arabia and Lebanon smashed up jihadi efforts. Ethiopia smashed up the Somalia effort. Pakistanis seem to be uniting in their hatred of the jihadis who kill Pakistanis.
And the biggest mistake that al Qaeda is making is going after Israel:
"Hamas has turned the Gaza Strip into an international center for global jihad," said one Palestinian Authority official to the Jerusalem Post. This official claimed that, "Most of the men who entered the Gaza Strip through the breached border are now being trained in Hamas's camps and schools." Another PA security official told the Jerusalem Post that, according to his information, dozens of al Qaeda operatives have managed to enter the Gaza Strip in the past two weeks. He said some of them had already been recruited to Hamas and Islamic Jihad. "They brought with them tons of explosives and various types of weapons, including anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles," he told the paper, and added that a number of Iranian security experts had also entered the Gaza Strip to help train members of Hamas and other armed groups.
I've asked it before, but in what world does it make sense to target the Israelis? The Israelis will kill plenty of these jihadis, some of whom may believe they've left Iraq to face an easier target.
In conventional warfare terms, you'd have to say that the jihadis are making a broad frontal assault on their enemies rather than trying to focus on one portion of the line. All the jihadis are doing is creating more enemies. Which is kind of funny, given the Left's claims about our war on jihadis doing just that.
It seems like our enemies are cooperating with us rather nicely. Let's kill them while we can.
