GOP Rep. J.D. Hayworth made a curious claim Tuesday during a debate with Dem Harry Mitchell, who's been gaining on the incumbent in recent polls. Discussing Iraq, Hayworth told the audience, "if we abandon Iraq, what our enemies refer to as the central front in the war on terror, we are inviting a raft of problems..." (emphasis added) At first glance, this statement seems like the average GOP talking point on Iraq, but Hayworth does something kind of new here. He directly attributes the phrase "the central front in the war on terror" to the enemies of America, though it is actually terminology popularized by the Bush administration, which they have been using since at least Sept. 7, 2003. Unless Hayworth is referring to the Bush administration as "our enemies," his reference to the phrase seems to be factually challenged. More after the jump.

Now, President Bush has used quotes from Osama Bin Laden to support his claim that Iraq is the central front in the war on terror:

Some wonder whether Iraq is a central front in the war on terror. Among the terrorists, there is no debate. Hear the words of Osama Bin Laden: "This Third World War is raging" in Iraq. "The whole world is watching this war." He says it will end in "victory and glory, or misery and humiliation."

But he only began doing so on June 28th, 2005 -- almost two years after first referring to Iraq as the central front in the war on terror. And none of Bin Laden's words echo the central front meme, though they can be characterized to support it.