[cloud8]

> It is important to distinguish between the fanatics and the mainstream. There are elements within Islam that are dangerous, those need to be weeded out and eliminated.

How are you going to do that? "Invade their countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity," like Ann Coulter says? Is there some sort of test by which the degree of their zealotry can be measured? Will the sermons of their leaders be monitored by DHS for non-mainstream content? If they are American citizens, would you have them imprisoned?

> However, it is simply preposterous to say that everyone practicing Islam is a fanatic who is 10 seconds away from bombing your local coffee house or theater.

Whether the girl in front of me in the checkout line has a bomb strapped onto her under her veil is only a matter of the distance between here and Tel Aviv. Or is it the distance between here and Madrid...or NYC?

[Ksnavely]

"How are you going to do that?"

By doing exactly what we are doing know, by searching for the terrorists, toppling the friendly regimes of terrorists and by using law enforcement to find the bad guys. What I find most appalling about this label so many are putting on all Muslims is that fact that it is counterproductive to winning the war on terror. To solve any problem you must first correctly identify it. It would be a misdiagnosis of the problem so say that all of Islam is tainted with terrorist tendencies and therefore should all be treated with suspicion and bared from holding offices or judicial positions based on religion as the sole criterium. And that misdiagnosis could lead to disastrous consequences if real action was taken based on it.