May I modify your statement ??
'....they want to eliminate every non-Muslim from the face of the earth.'
The hatred may be based in some ancient differences in religious dogma, but regardless of its origins, the hatred is there, it is real and it is palpable. Truthfully, the reasons for the hatred don't much matter anymore.
Ain't no UN peacekeeping force gonna put a lid on this conflict -- these boys have nukes, and they mean to use 'em when the time is right. This ol' world is in a serious predicament at the moment.
These extremists don't give a hoot in a holler about a Palestinian homeland. They are "using" Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people themselves as a cause celeb to rationalize the homicidal attacks against Israeli civilians. The Palestinians are nothing more than a tactical tool, the "point of the spear" to achieve a much broader strategic goal supported by the entire Arab world. Some "friendly" Arab states say one thing to our faces, but do something different. Take Saudi Arabia -- today Drudge is reporting they've set aside $50M to pay the families of "martyrs." That's hardly denouncing terrorism nor supporting peace. The Arab world is making a behind-the-scenes promise to Ol' Yasser -- 'Yasser, don't worry about Gaza, the Golan, the West Bank -- once we eliminate Israel -- the Palestinian people can have the whole damn shootin' match." That's why Yasser didn't take Barak's offer of all the land they wanted except for 37 acres, they're holding out for the whole enchilada !! It's as plain as the nose on your face.
We better wake up and smell the coffee. The reality of the Islamic faith is that if you are not a devout Muslim, then you are blasphemous -- it is the object of Islam to destroy those who blaspheme. These people do not share our idealistic "Rodney King" morality of can't we all just get along and live in harmony.
They hate us, they hate our religion, the hate our democracy, they hate our prosperity, they hate our power, they hate our morality, they hate everything about us -- they aim to destroy us. They keep using the words fatwah and jihad -- listen to them, they ain't kidding - they mean exactly what they are saying.
It is the goal of 1.2 billion Moslems to destroy the decadent, blasphemous world around them, including western Europe and the U.S. They are uniting first to destroy Israel, then the rest of us.
Have you ever heard any pundit on the news try to analyze Osama bin Laden's long term strategic aim ?? Surely we are not so naive to believe he doesn't have a strategic objective - that the 9/11 attacks were just some hit-and-run prank of a thug ?? We better start fessing up to ourselves and appreciate the reality of his strategy.
There's a big picture here -- we better start analyzing it - stop deluding ourselves, oversimplifying the threat -- there's no denying we're facing a modern crusade of monstrous proportions.
Yes, thank you. It is just as you say, the only qualifier is, Jews first.