On the continuum of action: (1) Appeal to higher authority (Principals, God, etc), (2) appeal to laws and conventions, (3) use of political and economic pressure (isolation, chastisement), (4) use of force; what you address is the one area where it takes the longest and the outcome is the least certain- Appeal to higher authority.
You first ask yourself, is negotiating reasonable? Will they only use it stall me to gain some benefit and is there a feasible zone or reasonable compromise? If the answer is yes, than begin the journey down the road of steps 1, 2 and 3. If the answer is no skip down to the level where you might get action. Ask yourself if this issue is worth the cost of sanctions, negotiations, military intervention etc. If yes, keep drilling down, if no, cut your losses. Not every battle is worth fighting.
Seldom is military action the first resort and it's seldom stand alone (negotiating is happening as the bombs drop). Even when the military itself gets involved, it spans a large spectrum in what they do. It's not a matter of progressing to the next phase and discontinuing the previous approaches either.
However, military involvement and definitely the threat thereof, is a needed tool.
The DoD has the global reach in logistics, it has the C2 to run huge and complex tasks, it has the means to communicate gloably, the legal framework is there, personal is well suited, they have specialized equipment to deal with scenarios that most others don't have, they can operate in austere environments or even where there is a threat (hostilities). Even in a humanitarian capacity, the DoD often takes a lead role while many other aid organizations not dare enter the real hot spots: Haiti (quake), Somalia (92 -93), Sudan............ While the US DoD doesn't get the credit as such, it is not an over exaggeration when I say it is the worlds largest humanitarian aid organization. Often they end up bringing in aid from other organizations that cannot approach the area. In fact, others like the UN often reap the recognition and get acknowledgment for something the US DoD did. No one matches what they do in terms of food, medical, transportation, security etc etc etc on a global scale for humanitarian reasons- NO ONE.
Indeed. But knowing the truth for ourselves helps very much. It is fine to have the military with global reach, but it would be even better not to have a need to send our military anywhere in the first place.
I bet you bin Laden, if he is still alive, is not plotting any more attacks simply because if he has any intelligence in him, he would know that we are doing a great job destroying ourselves through the loss of internal national moral and economic values, without any effort on his part.