It was instantly clear after Sept. 11, 2001, that our security agencies knew little about al Qaeda’s inner workings, could not detect its operatives’ entry into the country, nor predict where it might strike next.

Uh, except for the daily brief that President George W. Bush received a month before titled “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US” and specifically warning that “a group of (Osama) bin Laden supporters was in the U.S. planning attacks with explosives.”

And then there was the acknowledgment from the government’s own 9/11 Commission that important relevant information about the attacks “was available to the Intelligence Community prior to September 11, 2001″ but it “too often failed to focus on that information and consider and appreciate its collective significance in terms of a probable terrorist attack.” And the commission’s conclusion that “the Intelligence Community failed to fully capitalize on available, and potentially important, information.”

Is is really “the inspectors general report” that “ignores history and plays politics with the law,” as The Journal’s headline puts it?

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Bruce Hoffmann, unsurprisingly, disagrees with the entire premise of Timmerman’s question. The Anbar Awakening, which started before the surge, was more important than the surge, Hoffman says, though he adds that the “surge clearly mattered.” More centrally, “Al Qaeda has always seen Iraq as a diversion,” he adds, to buy time for Al Qaeda to regroup in Pakistan.

Steve Coll, who wrote “Ghost Wars” and “The Bin Ladens,” agrees, and adds that the victory over Al Qaeda in Iraq is more properly seen as a victory for Iraqis.

And if I can add: Timmerman should be happy that’s the case! Regardless of the immediate politics of the moment, it’s unquestionably better for the long-term war against Al Qaeda if Muslims defeat Al Qaeda. That’s the truest strategic victory there is: an indigenous, authentic, irrefutable setback for the jihadist entity, emanating precisely from the people it’s playing for.

For Americans to claim credit for it is truly to commit a counterproductive category error. (Well, that is, unless the true goal here is to sanctify George W. Bush instead of defeating bin Laden.) Focus, right-wingers, focus!

It is also a day to celebrate a common purpose, said Obama, who is making a rare joint appearance with Sen. John McCain, the GOP nominee, to show unity.  But Obama did not shrink from noting the prickly fact that hangs over every 9/11 anniversary this nation has observed:

Let us remember that the terrorists responsible for 9/11 are still at large, and must be brought to justice.

Obama has also used the attention on 9/11 to reiterate his foreign-policy differences with President George W. Bush and McCain. Responding to a question about Bush and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, last night Obama told David Letterman:

I think Giuliani deserves credit.  He kept calm and he was clear.  You know, I still remember your show after it happened and how moving that was.  That was one of the most powerful moments on television.  I think that George Bush did the right thing by going after the Taliban in Afghanistan, and I would have done the exact same thing. And the big difference between myself and George Bush I think would have been to stay focused on Afghanistan — not get distracted by Iraq.

I think we would have tamped down Al Qaeda — we could have, if not captured or killed Bin Laden, at least made sure that they weren’t setting up the kind of base camps that have now reconstituted themselves, so they’ve got safe haven in the mountains between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Sept. 11 is a day to “put aside politics,” says the conventional wisdom. We could all use a break from attack ads.

But it is also a day to embrace American values — which include democracy and robust debate. There may be no better day for Americans to hear out Obama’s foreign-policy arguments, and to consider whether Bush-McCain neo-conservatism has succeeded in catching bin Laden, or going on offense against the right targets. Or making the country safer.