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Mary Anne said

The discussions of motive that include religious beliefs need to point out, ad nauseam, that the terrorists who identify themselves as Muslim in fact have a very warped view of their religion. I know a lot of Christians who would not appreciate being identified with the Inquisition, the pogroms, and the Salem witch trials. The majority of Muslims are peaceable people. Insults and threats directed at their religion will not keep their friendship.





This is one point I've been trying to make since this happened. A true follower of Mohamed treats all with gentleness and hospitality.

Those who espouse a radical version of the faith are not Muslims, they are Zealots, and there is no treating with them.

They do not negotiate.

They do not listen to pleas on humane grounds.

The cannot be bought off with offers of
Aid, or money. Though they might take it and turn it against you.

They have one, and only one agenda, convert everyone to their version of religion, or kill them.

Many in the west and around the world that follow a different faith have yet to understand, they believe to die while fighting the infidel sends you straight to heaven. No waiting in line like the rest of the faithful. This makes them incredibly effective, and extremely hard to stop.

While their numbers are small, most estimates I've seen the last year or so indicates 20,000 or less. The methods they use are extremely effective in destruction and death, 19 men died on their side, more than 5,000 on ours.
It cost them a few hundred thousand dollars, it will cost us many billions.

Carpet bombing Afghanistan won't work, the only effective method is to send in the troops. And that is going to be horribly expensive, in Material, Money and sadly - blood, from both sides. I have said more than once this is a situation made for special operations groups. The primary mission of these teams is simple, apply a precise amount of force to a very specific target, with no collateral damage.
Identifying a clear single target is not possible with these groups, they have no fixed land base, no assets that can be targeted with a Smart Bomb. What they have is men and women, that is their one single asset. And that is what has to be neutralized.

The problem is simple, identify the target, strike it precisely with the exact amount of force required to remove it. To flail about blindly and with no clear target will only gather us more enemies, and if nothing else, the last week had shown us we need no more enemies. The ones we have now are enough.

My main concern is that in a year or two, is the US going to run out of the stones for this? When the body bags start coming home, with unidentifiable remains in them, will the public begin to pressure their politicians to stop?
If this is not finished with definition, and determination, the events of the last week will become all to familiar.