Holy crap, can this be true? Is this preemptive strikes only when we feel like it and it's politically convenient? (not that I'm really in favor of preemptive strikes, but hey, at least a little consistency would be nice)

"With Tuesday’s attacks, Abu Musab Zarqawi, a Jordanian militant with ties to al-Qaida, is now blamed for more than 700 terrorist killings in Iraq."

-snip-

"And despite the Bush administration’s tough talk about hitting the terrorists before they strike, Zarqawi’s killing streak continues today."

According to the article, the Pentagon presented attack plans to the White House three times, due to what it considered to be strong evidence of Zarqawi's terrorist plans, and each time the National Security Council nixed the plan, supposedly because "...the administration feared destroying the terrorist camp in Iraq could undercut its case for war against Saddam."