No Quarter

It's early fall
There's a cloud in the New York skyline
Innocence...dragged across a yellow line
--U2

Terrorists of the 9/11 variety are perhaps the worst kind of enemy because they:

1. are willing to die in order to destroy us
2. have demonstrated capacity for doing so in a big way
3. wear no marker

A difficult enemy to deal with--particular because they wear no marker. Conventional diplomacy with foreign countries is ineffective since terrorists are dispersed rather than affiliated with national governments.

Seems as if two primary strategies exist for dealing with this threat. Reactive mode--beef up defense and wait for the enemy to strike again on your home turf. Proactive mode--go abroad to hunt down and destroy the enemy.

Because of the potential damage that can be done on a return attack, it's difficult for me to see the wisdom in being reactive. A proactive strategy will never be totally successful, since you'll never eliminate all the enemy. But you're pressuring them (like a boxer who won't let his opponent get a breather) and creating distance between your home and them.

Neither option is what I would consider 'good'. But given the nature of this enemy, a proactive strategy seems 'less bad.'