That sounds good, unfortunately most of the nasty world leaders we have to deal with function precisely on the level of a schoolyard bully.

Rush Limbaugh got into a lot of trouble, even with his own listeners, by postulating that real peace throughout history has only been generated when one side or the other has been totally defeated.

There are exceptions in my opinion: a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, after Israel returned the Sinai, seemed largely successful. There may be other examples as well, but they don't come to mind right now.

However, if you look at all of this century, or even history as a whole, the total defeat requirement for peace is the rule rather than the exception.

When we defeated Iraq before, it made a big impression on the bullies. When we almost clocked Quaddafi with a bomb in his bed, he virtually stopped being a major name in terrorism. And you can bet our performance in Afghanistan has made a few world leaders think twice about pulling our chain.

Sure, the "Arab Street" is screaming about us, but at leadership levels where the opinions really count, "might" may not make "right," but it sure as hell makes an impression.

When you are dealing with militants, the militant approach is what works. I wish it weren't true, but it is.