It is a criminal matter. Harry Browne is correct.
In the past it was a war if we were opposing another country or countries. With the War on Terror this has changed. Al Quada (sp) is much more than an individual or even a criminal gang. It is composed of many thousands of members operating out of many countries. Police and FBI are not adequate to handle this. If we want to defeat them we must use the more aggressive force we have which is the military.