. . . but then there are those millions of others.
;^)

In WWII, it was pointed out that not every German soldier was a Nazi.

Bowser, we are apparently worlds apart on this issue. You may be thinking of an organization (al Qaida) of +1000. I see it as millions. There are about 1.5 billion Muslims. Let's say that only 2% are radical. That is 30,000,000 potential terrorists. For every mobbed up terrorist that we kill or capture there are thousands that will gladly take their place. To think in terms of a thousand is like thinking that wiping out the Mafia will end crime.

Larger still:
Consider non-Muslim supporters of al Qui’da. The misinformed and just plain stupid money-bags of the world.

As for comparing the price of war from an al Qui’da and from a ROW (Rest of the World) perspective, I would say the al Qui’da are further in the hole than ROW -- and the burm is starting to fall in on them.

Heck there are thousands of potential leaders equal to or greater that OBL. It is desirable that we terminate OBL but that solves nothing. As long as he is running for his life, he is as good as dead. He needs a certain amount of visibility to be an effective leader. If and when he surfaces we will get him like we got Che'.

I believe, as Larry’s post indicated, that bin Laden overstepped his place in the Muslim world. There are far more Muslims than non-Muslims hunting his hide today.

In their various groups they are both smart and stupid depending on what they are doing at any particular time. That goes for all groups (IRA, Aryan Brotherhood etc.). One group of 20 may be doing something incredibly evil and smart and another group of twenty can't find their ass with both hands. They must not be underestimated but they are capable of a wide range of proficiency.

Well, overestimating can be as costly as underestimating, but I think we’re currently holding al Qui’da genius in the proper light. They’re very clever, in a dumb sort of way.

This will be a long war and the worst is yet to come. Before it is over there will not be not be a lot of argument about what has to be done.

Dunno if the worst is yet to come, but the potential is definitely there. Vigilance will rule the day, and if we remain alert and prepared, the worst will already be behind us.

Cheers,
Dan