Safer where? Fighting where? Winning where?

Juan Cole points out a little problem of political rhetoric:

So much for the theory of 'fighting them there so we don't have to fight them here.' (which has always struck me as monstrous and immoral). But anyway there is now at least some evidence that the war in Iraq is actually generating plots against the US homeland (i.e. against the New York City subway system). So maybe fighting wars over there is not actually making us safer here (as the London public has already decided).