-But don't you think that some of the problems with terrorism and the run of small dictators to get hold of "the bomb" could stem from that attitude?

Look at Moammar Gadhafi, he saw us go into Iraq and did a 180. Musharraf straightened up and became our ally after we invaded Afghanistan. Some will hold out to try and not look weak, most will back down to keep their power.

-Wouldn't a policy of de-escalation be the better bet?

The problem with de-escalation at this point, is, as soon as we de-descalate, the "terrorists" brag about their big victory, and they come after us even harder. What people need to realize, is that there is only one way out of this conflict. Break them before they break us. Until that gets into people's thick skulls though, we're gonna be in the same place we're in right now, forever. As long as people have the thought process of hey, if we just back off, they'll leave us alone, we're in trouble. They won't. They hate us, they hate everything we stand for. They do not understand a society that separates church and state. The "church" IS the state for them, and people like Bin Laden take advantage of that to consolidate power, he just chose the wrong target.