The Taliban were the recognized government of Afghanistan, hence a state actor. They suffered the consequences of harboring AQ, which had physically located there and organized training camps. We knew who took down the WTC and where they were located.
Who would we retaliate against if a Panama-flagged vessel pulled into NY harbor and detonated an atomic bomb? Or a bomb was detonated in a truck inside the US? That is the problem when dealing with state sponsors of terrorism who use surrogates to carry out their attacks. The Chinese could do something like that as well.
Frankly my heart is with Newt and strongly wishes for us to strip off the gloves, throw down with the Israelis now and simply put an end to these scum. However my brain understands the difference between what is desirable and what is doable.
Agree, doing that would be counterproductive to our efforts in the region, including in Iraq.
The Taliban did not attack us, Al Qeda did. How would that be any different then the Iranians using Hezbullah to attack us?