Who is Taking the Fight to Whom?

We were told that our best defense against terrorism "is to take the fight to the enemy." Upon toppling Saddam Hussein, we were assured "the world is safer today because, in Iraq, our coalition ended a regime that cultivated ties to terror while it built weapons of mass destruction." Our leaders then convinced us that our continued presence in Iraq is crucial for "training Iraqi forces so they can take the fight to the enemy, so they can defend their country."

And now this:

"Barbaric" Terrorist Attack in London

Dozens of people are dead and hundreds have been wounded in multiple bomb attacks on London's public transportation system. Three of the explosions occurred in the London subway at the height of morning rush hour. Another blast tore apart a double decker bus. London police officials have confirmed 33 deaths in the subway system alone. CNN is reporting at least 40 people are a dead, including passengers on the bus. Hospital officials have reported at least 360 wounded. Many of the injured are in critical or serious condition.

In a web-site posting, a previously unheard of group calling itself the "Secret Organization group of al Qaeda Organization in Europe," is claiming responsibility for the attack. ...

Is this what it means to "take the fight to the enemy"? Isn't this exactly the kind of thing our invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan were supposed to prevent?

It appears Charles H. Featherstone got it right in his latest essay, "All This Useless Power": "We have unleashed our power upon the world only to discover that it is terribly finite, a great deal more limited than we hoped and imagined. Hundreds of billions of dollars spent on bombs, tanks, planes, soldiers, and every passing day we are less and less able to bend the world to our will."