"The only reason we didn't get Bin Laden then, was the paper pushing pencil necks at the Pentagon didn't have the balls to give full operational command to the boot level..."
Anonymous stressed this as well- also said that we need to know that we are in a full-blown war- and not worry about PC or the "Arab Street".
The military PC behavior you speak of has been with us though VietNam, The Gulf War and this one as well. Each of them with soldiers who are held back by orders they certainly question and are unable to change. I have the utmost respect for our military personnel protecting the WORLD (yes, the world) from terroriss, with their very lives while following the rules of engagement they are given. We all sleep more safely because of what they do!
Yup, we're in a R.L.W. That is a Real Live War, and we've gotta act like it. But this is a Shadow War as President Bush has stated, right after 911. It is not one that can be fought against the whole of the Arab world (just yet) with conventional armies. We need to unleash our Dogs of War so that are free to hunt and kill without mercy the terrorist curs wherever they reside, in any country without regard to national borders.
It brings to mind the kind of operation the Israelis used to be famous for, especially right after the 1972 Olympic fiasco. They hunted Black September without mercy. They even made a movie loosely based on the operation called Sword of Gideon with a young Steven Bauer. That's the kind of operation we need to be engaged in for the foreseeable future. In fact the WOT should actually drop off the radar screen altogether, except for mysterious obituaries reported in the world press. The second leg of the op can be the overt "Regime Changes" that must be undertaken in places like Iran, Syria and North Korea. And maybe....France? Canada perhaps?