[Cacique]

Al Queida's history has demonstrated the only muzzle it fears is the iron glove of retribution taken upon the relatives of conspirators - which America nor our allies will engage in. Any form of Western democracy will take years, most possibly decades, for the Iraqi people to accomplish, even with Allied America's continued help.

The Spanish and Latin American concept and rules of war were inherited from The Moors and Islam. Such concepts as "guerra sin cuarto" (war without quarter) and "arrancar la Raiz" (pulling the root) should be learned by the rest of the west because those are the rules our foes are applying. Argentina's "dirty war" against the leftist insurgents in the 70's and 80's was just such a war. Little understood by the northeners who are still too married to the civilised Queensbury rules of boxing.

The inquistion in Spain was severe precisely because it was necessary to employ the same methods the Muslims used in converting Christians to convert them back.

It seems the west has adopted the philosophy that one should bring a knife to a gunfight just to prove how compassionate one is.

[azhenfud]

"It seems the west has adopted the philosophy that one should bring a knife to a gunfight just to prove how compassionate one is."

Precisely. It appears you've summed up the West's short-sighted perspective on a war that will not nor can not be won by conventional warfare tactics or rationale.

[RussianConservative]

Well, make that Protestant/Catholic west, Orthodox west never like war but when we go to war it is hell we bring upon enemy.