I do disagree with you about everyone "knowing" about the problem. Maybe you live in an enlightened area, but it wasn't until I found FR this past summer that I met anyone that had a clue about Islam. I "thought" I knew a lot because I had read a few books.LOL I have since learned that I knew nothing and it was a few wonderful FReepers who took the time to teach me (thank you USF and Texasblubell)...and yes I am still learning, and sometimes I get carried away with my choice of words.
I sense your frustration at lack of solutions. Mine would take away some of our civil liberties, which I'm sure would not go over well with many in this Country.
I am a Bush supporter, but I don't agree with how he has handled this situation. I also don't necessarily think he "believes" what he said publicly.
Do you have any ideas?
It's a lot easier to recognize the problems, than it is to find the solutions to solve them!
I can also appreciate your impression that not everyone is fully aware of the magnitude of this threat and the frighteningly few reasonable options we have.
There are people a lot smarter than you and I who are wrecking their brains day and night trying to find a solution. It's a tightrope with very little room for error.
Bottom line is -- we can control and isolate any dangerous element within our society, but not if that is only the tip of an iceberg. Shutting down mosques and placing all Muslims under surveillance will do nothing to stop radical Islam in the world -- it will only make it more radical.
We need to build alliances, strengthen our values, pray, and look at root problems of this radicalization. If you think people know nothing of Islam, they know even less as to the complex mess that started all this.
But keep learning. We all are. Just realize that the world is not as simple as we would like it to be.