[jstolzen]

Thanks, bones..very good advice and I appreciate you taking the time to put all of that together. Definitely very comprehensive insight and valuable!

[bonesmccoy]

You're very welcome.

This war on terror has a battle element never seen in US military history. The primary weapon is a psychological and not direct physical threat. The physical threat is only a secondary threat because the greater force is the influence of the terror itself.

The terrorism has affected 290 million Americans.

The direct terror affected perhaps 100,000 individuals (3000 victims and their families).

In the scope of warfare, the targetting of civilian populations is nothing new.

However, the ability of the perpetrators to negatively influence the economy is their main instrument. Our nation clearly suffered an incredibly strong adverse economic impact due to 9-11-01's terror strikes. That economic downturn probably affected more than the strikes themselves. This is the force multiplier effect that they are intending to have.

I applaud the work of the Freepers here in this thread to maintain vigil at the electronic front.

But, we should not permit the vigil to translate to become the psychologic instrument of terror that AQ intends.

For this reason, the Bush Administration's declaration to citizens to continue normal activity is critical. If we fail to continue "normal" activity, our economy and our homes are destroyed by the terror provoked by AQ.

This can not occur for the sake of our collective security interests.