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Good thoughts except for the omission of the sovereingty of God. The best war plan is knowledge of Deuteronomy 28 and application of the whole of scripture. Humanism is failing us and America returns to its vomit--more humanism. While we kill Osama will die-a let's also repent and return to the Lord.

Well Doc, I am just a simple country boy, and I won't even try to debate you, as you are well educated. I have heard of people who are educated well beyond their intelligence.
I remember a few things from my World War Two history. One that sticks out in my mind was General Eisenhower. What made him great in my mind was the fact he listened to everybody. Let me say that again he listened to everybody. I am sure you are thinking that meant he even listened to his Captains. No, he even listened to the privates, the grunts, the ones out there in the trenches. He asked them what they needed. He asked them for ideas. He used the good ideas. This WAR will be won because we will ALL participate. We will have good ideas, and we will use the good ones.
We will make some mistakes, maybe many mistakes, but we will strive on.
We got hit in the gut, below the belt if you will. This is different. That fact won't be forgoten easily.
Maybe I ought to teach at the WAR college.
All I have to offer is good ole common sense.
Something that has been missing in this country for a long time.
I think we gots us a good wake up Call.
I think my brave brothers and sisters and I will answer this call and I think a lot of you at the WAR COLLEGE will be very surprised.
We Americans do our very best work when we are Mad. Just ask the British.

Good post. Thanks. I just have one little point to nitpick about. He wrote:

He believes us to be soft, impatient, and self-centered.

A properly "self-centered" person will not be "soft and impatient" in this battle. This post provides the evidence for that. A properly selfish person, one who loves the freedom and prosperity in this country, will heed this warning well, and be ready to fight at home to the extent that he can (both to preserve his own life, and to save his country).

BUMP!

Excellent post, and thank you!

We will be fighting a war of annihilation, because if their early efforts are any indication, our enemy is ready and willing to die to the last man.

And this is the point that everyone seems to ignore. The terrorists are like fish that hide amongst the other fish in a great ocean. To get the terrorist apart from the others that conceal his (her?) presence is well nigh impossible. Not only will American innocents be killed, we Americans must steel ourselves to killing their innocents. Of course, that's a dirty little issue that nice people don't wish to discuss...

While the comparison to Viet Nam makes sense as far as the guerilla nature of the enemy goes, there is a vital difference. The North Viet Namese were unwilling or unable to attack Americans on our own soil. Further, Viet Nam had no defining moment, nothing that would lead to a slogan that could have steeled our resolve. The War Against Mexico had "Remember The Alamo!" The Spanish American War had "Remember The Maine!" In WWI the sinking of the Lusitania gave us the will to assist England and France, and Pearl Harbor was clearly the impetus for our entry into WWII. Korea, like Viet Nam, had no such defining moment for Americans, and the result was likewise far from ideal. From what I have seen in the last 11 days, particularly at Ground Zero, but, more basically, in our everyday lives of supermarket shopping, restaurant eating, highway driving, and baseball playing, the Spirit of America is back. There is a genuine concern for our fellow citizens, and one not likely to fade very quickly. The exhibition hockey game, with the NY Rangers visiting the Philadelphia Flyers, is, to me, a watershed event. I doubt whether a sporting event in the late 60's would have been terminated so that the fans could listen to LBJ or Nixon talk about how we were going to fight the North Viet Namese.