This is one of those fundamental truths that so many people forget. Anybody who has been bullied in school can tell you that handing over your lunch money today will result in your handing it over tomorrow, too.
And what do we have? A world where in places like Israel, it's a good week if a murder-bomer doesn't strike again. And where the world watches and accuses Israel of being the bully!
That's where I feel our nation's rules of engagement have held back the hand of the warfighter. We collectively have been duped into buying the "Nyah nyah, you can't come here, this is the holy city of..."
You ask me, here are the new rules: We'll try to avoid blowing your mosques off the map, but if some dude therein so much as flips us the bird, let alone raises a fist or shows anything remotely resembling a gun, we'll MOAB that thing right off the map. You want to treat your mosque like a war zone? We'll help you!
Now, this may actually be the way it works, but in order to make this work, we need a missing element, the media. If Donald Rumsfeld were to give a press conference, and announced this new doctrine, and say that CNN and Al Jazeera covered it, which news organizaiton would be more anti-American? It might be a dead heat. I've postulated that the major networks pinch their text straight from Al Jazeera.
Summary? Indeed, giving into terrorism assures future terrorism.
The major problem, as I see it -- is conflicting "visions" as in: Pursuing the American Dream vs. Facing Up to Realities.
American Major Media, which is lib, continues to foster the idea that the so-called "American Dream" is intact, and that Repubs are simply foisting a war on the world in order to get re-elected. The major media, does not provide connections which would clearly rebut this view of "normalcy" -- instead, they do "disconnected" news reporting. Bombings in Israel are not put anywhere near the stories about 911 investigations, or latest local terrorist attempts in America and Europe. It's the visual equivalent of newsprint only printing pertinent aspects of headline stories on, say, page B-22, small para. So, there's a percentage of Americans who either wishfully think all this hoopla about being murdered simply will not happen to them; but rather it happens to other people -- over there; or there's Americans who see the connections, despite "editorial attempts" at disconnection -- and all labelled "conspiracists" by same media disconnecting these events for digest by American citzenry. It's a displacement/placement issue.
Elections in America, are the classic means, far more reliable than polling data -- as to where or how this connection/disconnection really falls, or is perceived. Right now, polling data is being used in attempts to determine how disconnected or connected are Americans from the realities of what is going on in re terrorists, and/or how clear they are. President Bush must be re-elected, IMHO. If, when his admin is, directives such as you propose can be more readily accomplished. Why? The Admin are representatives of the majority VOICE of the people. And, US leaders need to know exactly how to "use" their offices in accord with the will of THE PEOPLE of the United States. And this, IMHO, is why the directives such as you suggest, are not being openly implemented. Currently.
An asidem? The Democrat Strategy in re winning election. Clearly, they are going off their rockers (whoopi, Mel Watts, NAACP). What fascinates me? They are against the US as a military power; but instead by their very actions and words, propose themselves as the militants (military) wrangling "for" America. They propose that "war" be ended via civil means. That we can just talk our rapists/terrorists out of hurting us. But they themselves are most uncivil. Another "conflict" in the vision thing. It's got to be confusing, a very confusing matter to those who get their news from the mainstream, partisan media. How can a "peace by talks" person be supporting representatives of a party who are constantly uttering the rhetoric of uncivil violence?
A fascinating disconnect, IMHO.