[alex]

"What you say is true. However, Western--and especially American--cultural influences are ubiquitous in the world today, and nations that do not welcome them appear to be powerless to stop them. The Islamic theocracies cannot seem to prevent the inflow of Western--especially American--influences, which they hate, and they conclude that the only way to stop it is to destroy America."

We strong enough to defeat any attempt to do and isolating them will make our job of defending against any attack even easier.

"Evidently, one thing that they particularly despise is democracy, which, evidently, conflicts with the sharia and therefore cannot be allowed; however, democracy is what the United States is all about and is fundamental to Western Civilisation. There seems to be an irreconcilable conflict here."

IMHO, the freedom of society is defined by freedom of its enterprises, democracy without capitalism does not bring much to the table - there are plenty of examples throughout the history, with Zimbabwe and SA being the most recent ones. These guys first and foremost hate our freewheeling culture of greedy individualism.

"Something's gotta give. Don't you agree"

??? It seems like you are bent on destruction, I think that isolation is much more human way of addressing these issues.

[Savage Beast]

No, I am definitely NOT bent on destruction. I am bent on adjustment and accomodation. The French and Russian Revolutions loom in the international psyche as examples of intransigence and failure to find ways to live together. And I am not suggesting that the West try to isolate the Islamic World either; I was merely pointing out the the Islamic World cannot seem to isolate ITSELF from Western Influences in the ever shrinking modern world and this is a fundamental cause the Islamic rage.