Yes, we do, Doug. And where up there did you read that I thought we should turn our cheek. While I have great respect for your views, your whole last post exactly makes my point. Instead of dealing with facts, you chose to put forward a false predicate. You chose to suggest that I and others think we should have just let them bomb the WTC and wring our hands. That is not accurate. As I have said in earlier threads, those that chose to kill 3,000 innocents must pay for that deed. I have said that I support the effort to root out terrorists completely. But what I have also said, and it was within hours of the bombing, is that if we don't also figure why this is happening, we will be dealing with the same thing long after you and I are in our boxes. And I am tired of conservatives shouting this stupid bullshit about "they are jealous of us, they can't stand our freedom". Keep that crap up and you won't face the probability of bombs in our shopping centers, you will face it for a certainty. The same advice that I teach my kids, I would beg the President to follow. And that is when faced with adversity and folks attacking you, the first reaction ought to be self reflection to determine what part of the cause is on us. Only by honest self appraisal, and a willingness to understand that the folks doing this believe in the rightnous of their position as fervently as you do, can you chart a path which leads to resolution and a more perfect world. I am not speaking here of the maniacs that committed this madness. I am speaking here of the very large majority of the Islamic world that doesn't even believe that Moslems did this. Do you seriously believe that these are all wild eyed demons willing to kill themselves just to bloody our nose? These are men and women raising kids, with hopes and aspirations just as valid as yours. It is a matter of survival, ours and theirs, that we find a way to bridge the gap of understanding between us.

Strike the perpetrators, and strike them hard. Just understand as the body bags come home, and you start seeing the children who are casualties, that this shallow, damn idea of "nuke 'em" will lead only to more misery, for the people in those countries and ours as well.

DougR and others, I mean no personal slight to any of you. But this one taps into very familiar feelings for me that go back to the early '70's. I have earned my right to have them, and they are borne of a horror that is unspeakable. I want us to complete our mission, not be caught in the pisshole of an unwinnable war. In the end, understanding and dialogue will win the day long before bullets and bombs, justified though they might be, will.

Mick