And before they were condemned as terrorists, they were praised as anti-communist revolutionaries. Let's face it, we are dealing with a medieval society in Afghanistan, comprised of feuding warlords interspersed with religious fanatics, and a largely suffering peasant population. If you're looking for white knights, they are going to be few and far between there. We aren't suddenly going to be able to impose a free market system and democratic institutions on them to help them enjoy the fruits of the western world. The Romans, Russians, the British, the Indian Rajs, all took turns sitting on that powderkeg, and essentially nothing has changed. Well, they have vcrs and satellite dishes now.

Like it or not, the US is the dominant power on earth. Benign neglect will accomplish nothing but what it has done so far in the middle east. To accomplish regional peace, most of these people will have to be hammer-locked and grappled to the table. Until we were attacked, the need for regional peace was not enough of a motivating factor. Things have changed.

And..sorry..to a great extent the ends do justify the means. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. In order to maintain a modicum of peace and security in our country, and other countries like Canada, Britain, France, etc who enjoy their piece of the world economic pie, of peaceable existence and God-given freedom (although somebody has always had to defend these freedoms with a gun once God gave them), the US has the great honor to carry the gun in this instance.