You on the other hand try to argue like a Leftie. We cannot defeat an un-defined terrorism any better than we can end rape, murder, and theft. Thus we must look internally for a solution. And that is not say there are not foreign wars that could be conducted to make 'us safer at home' but these wars should not be debt financed.
Debt financing particularly when the debt is sold to foreigners places the American economy in the hands of foreigners and that effects the ability to have a free hand in foreign policy. For example, its possible China holds enough US debt to sway an election if they chose to make economic war with the United States. Or in the case of the Middle East and South America, what would happen if the petro-dollars became petro-Euros?
Since I am a conservative I base my foreign policy leanings strictly on George Washington's Farewell Address. Did they have you read that your government education camp?
I also favor closed borders, a decentralized government, and a well-armed citizenry as the best defense. That is different than you leftwing Wilsonian view of seeking a political solution (in this case a "war" based on the Prussian Clausewitz--not an American-- that war is an extension of politics.)
I realize that in today's paradigm you have been led to believe you are a conservative, but that is simply not the case.
Once the Republicans lost the government shutdown battle of 1995 to 1996, winning the next election became more important than risking our majority to fight for the principles that propelled us into power. Lott's argument about waiting to work toward good government after his political position was more secure [after the next election] was the line of reasoning career politicians have always used to justify the cowardice of political expediency. When good government is something to be pursued tomorrow, that tomorrow never arrives; it is always after the next election cycle. In the eyes of career politicians, the perfect political moment for change is a mirage that is always just over the horizon.