Iraqi Flypaper

This isn’t something you hear discussed that much anymore, but it was something that came into my head again recently after reading a couple of excellent posts on Iraq over at Hit & Run. A criticism I haven’t heard about the “flypaper theory”, and one that I think is pretty legitimate, is as follows: why on earth would Iraq be a magnet for terrorists with a US military force present in the country? If you were a terrorist set on killing Americans, would you take the battle to the front lines in Iraq where you will confront the most sophisticated and well-equipped army the world has ever known? Or would you avoid this area like a bag of Old Dutch chips when The Kleiter is watching and focus on trying to harm Americans where they are relatively defenseless? Does the “if you occupy it, they will come” mentality make any sense? On the contrary; it just doesn’t fly. (Or does it not stick?)