[Richard Kimball]

This is a brilliant article. I've been thinking, ever since the attacks, that we are walking around in a state of denial. We view wars as something like WWII. The countries fight, one wins, a treaty is signed. These people don't see it that way. As long as they breathe, they want to kill. They love killing us more than they hate seeing their children die. At some point in time, we will be faced with the prospect of either the constant attack, response, that the other side seems to love so much, or we will say, "I guess we'll have to kill them all."

We want that "Perry Mason" moment. We want the other side to confess. If we kill all but two people in Afghanistan, one of them will start searching for a way to get revenge.

[Centurion2000]

We view wars as something like WWII. The countries fight, one wins, a treaty is signed. These people don't see it that way. As long as they breathe, they want to kill. They love killing us more than they hate seeing their children die. At some point in time, we will be faced with the prospect of either the constant attack, response, that the other side seems to love so much, or we will say, "I guess we'll have to kill them all."

you have a point and they have a lot in common with kamikaze pilots.

Of course we know what cooled that fury .... 35 kiltons of radiant energy.

It may require much more than that this time.

[Restorer]

At some point in time, we will be faced with the prospect of either the constant attack, response, that the other side seems to love so much, or we will say, "I guess we'll have to kill them all."

Good point. Who do you nominate as "them all?"

All Arabs? All Moslems? All "people of middle eastern appearance"? All people with skin darker than yours?

I agree we might have to kill them all. I just don't want to expand this class more than necessary.

If necessary, we do have the capability to kill as large a number as required.

[NoControllingLegalAuthority]

"I guess we'll have to kill them all."

I think we are going to come quickly to this conclusion. Ultimately, I believe, it will be them or us. It's a horrible choice but one we may have to make.

[BunnySlippers]

or we will say, "I guess we'll have to kill them all."

Since 9/11 I have felt this has to be the only solution. Americans have no taste for killing ... but another terrorist attack of sufficient magnitude will toughen our resolve. It's us or them.

[Hostage]

I agree this articleis particularly informative and insightful.

However, this is different than Vietnam. We have the memory of 911 to harden our resolve. In Vietnam, we had a new generation exposed to the "horror" of killing innocents and we were forced to look inward. Not this time. The introspection will be done this time by the Muslim.

No academic, no movement, no cause can overcome the killing of those innocents on 911. We remember how parts of our media and university establishments tried unsuccessfully to have us examine ourselves as the cause. The "horror" of the innocents outweighs all other considerations.

Their only weapon against our wrath was to sway the world to the point of view that we are the terrorists. I say "was" because they failed to turn the American people against themselves as was done in Vietnam. They failed because nothing justifies the evil committed on 911 in the eyes of America. Nothing.

They are now consigned to sway their own to the notion of America as terrorist. They are winning on that front perhaps but it doesn't matter. American resolve will force the Muslim to look inward.

As President Bush so eloquently stated, "Adversity introduces you to yourself". So it must be, so it will be with the Muslim.