" breaking it is an extremely dirty and bloody business"
The reason it will be dirty and bloody, is because we did not ever have the will, or the common sense, to SEVERELY punish the terrorists when they first dared to kill Americans. We should have destroyed every terrorist camp that we knew of, or could find through our connections.
Who could have argued with that strategy but the terrorists themselves, and of course those countries who gain from their actions? All cards would have then been on the table.
Defending the people of the United States is the most important role of the federal government. Pity, people do not take that seriously.
Well, the Israelis have been punishing the terrorists attacking them for how long by now? The required level of severity is bordering on genocidal.