Bin Laden supposedly released a tape offering a "truce" with Europe. This shows he sees that he is losing in his ultimate goals. Just to remind everyone, these were:

1) Removal of US troops from Saudi Arabia
2) An end to US support for Israel
3) Removal of Western influence from the Middle East generally

Well, let's see...since 9/11, we've gone in the OPPOSITE direction that he was hoping on all three issues and are completely unapologetic about it. Far from collapsing like bin Laden thought we would, our nation is more united and filled with resolve. Sure, we're split about Iraq, but not about Afghanistan or the overall need for the War on Terror. No one would even consider negotiating with al Qaeda or bin Laden at this point.

The Iraqi insurgents, likewise, want to see the US out of Iraq for political ends (so they can become the power brokers in the country). They're losing, too, and they're getting desperate. Al-Sadr has started caving in on what he was saying when he started his uprising, now promising not to have an armed militia and agreeing to stand trial in an Iraqi court. The response from us should be only to accept reasonable demands. He can surrender and he will be treated well. The US can avoid bloodshed and let the Mahdi Army peacefully disperse, etc.

BUT...there is NO WAY we should ever even consider the demands of terrorists. Just as we would rather shoot down a hijacked plane than let 9/11 happen again, we need to be willing to let hostages be killed by savages to show them that symbolic gestures of that sort are not going to sway our overall political agenda. Furthermore, we have to show that we can play their game. Granted, I'm not saying we should take women and children hostages and execute them in exchange, but we can show our strength and resolve and in the end, the terrorists will themselves know fear and uncertainty, and their organizations will crumble.

NOTE: The US DOES need to start turning over sovereignty to Iraqis. The one exception to everything I've written is that people fighting for their own freedom have a habit of never giving up.


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