Absolutely. I certainly didn't mean to discount your viewpoint at all...unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view) a weakness we have IS to turn the other cheek.
I am not a "glass parking lot" person, and I firmly believe that what we are doing right now, expending blood, lives and money in the Middle East, is the right and moral thing to do. We should be proud of it. We could be like the Nazis or Soviets and just go in and flatten the place, but...that is not why we went in there. It is in our best interests to improve their lives and try to break them out of the medieval mode they are stuck in. Then they might not be flying planes into our buildings.
Of course, it all may fail. The people who say Islam is not compatible with democracy may be right. And when a nuclear device goes off in an American city, all bets are off. But I am not willing to be a member of the "Glass Parking Lot" crowd until that point. That means I may be willing to sacrifice huge numbers of American lives to reach that point. My life, or the lives wife or family may be one of those lost. So be it. But I will not be a party to the scorched earth policy until then.
We're pretty much on the same page, I think.
This is tremendously complex, and I cannot fathom what it must be for those who must make the real decisions day in and day out. All I can do is pray for them.
I am in this fight until the end in my own small way. And I am honored to fight along Muslims who are willing to take on their own natural allies in the name of what is good in the face of evil...which is a lot harder than taking on one's enemies.