DannyBear,
I agree that country of residence or birth should not matter. Any who aid and abet terrorism should be restrained.
My point in posting this information is that to defeat this radical Islamic mindset, especially to eradicate it long-term, you must first understand it.
It may be that bin Laden and the Taliban comprise the head of the snake. I'm not so sure. My feeling is that they are convenient, tangible targets for a country that very much needs to give its enemy a face, that needs an outlet for its anger and grief. We do not like grappling with a faceless, murky monster.
If we did not have bin Laden and the Taliban, what would the U.S. do? Target Saudi Arabia? The United Arab Emirates? Iraq?
I fear that the U.S. is trying to punish primarily one country for actions of individuals. This paragraph from the New York Times sums up my feelings well:
In Moscow, an influential parliamentarian, Aleksei G. Arbatov, said although the consensus there was "total moral support" for the United States and the struggle against terrorism, there also existed a strong humanitarian concern "not to resort to massive strikes, to nonselective actions which are unjustified from the moral point of view, to avenge the death of thousands of innocent people with the deaths of tens of thousands of other innocent people."
I also feel that chasing bin Laden and giving him so much importance is just what he craves. I would not give him what he wants, nor would I chase him. What deeply bothered him before was an American presence in Saudi Arabia. Let Saudi Arabia show its support by allowing American troops to once again enter Saudi Arabia. Ignore Afghanistan for now. Bin Laden and Al Qaeda will emerge.
Meanwhile, allow the Islamic world to express its outrage at bin Laden's behavior, quoting heavily from the Quran, exposing the flaws in the radical mindset. If this is done soon, it could be especially effective since Muslims will observe Ramadan between November 16 and December 14, a time of fasting and prayerful contemplation.
http://www.submission.org/about-R.html
If the U.S. wants to be religious, drop the "God Bless America" and emphasize how our prophet Jesus admonished us to return evil for evil to no one. Outdo the most fundamentalist Muslim in being excrutiatingly careful to be just and fair in this case. Take away the expected face of the enemy from the barkers of radical Islam, and the movement will lose its motive power. An enemy is a strong unifier. In this sense, Satan has always been much more powerful than Jesus.
Grunt,
I agree, it is a very warped and twisted mindset in which one can kill without guilt yet have a law against kites because they distract from prayerful contemplation and worry about the law of sacred hospitality. The Taliban considers itself the only pure followers of Islam. More liberal Muslims are viewed as corrupted apostates and must be destroyed. Sound familiar?
I can't say that it will break my heart if the Taliban is routed from Afghanistan--if the loss of civilian lives is minimal. When I indulge myself in thoughts of revenge, it is not for the terrorism at the WTC and Pentagon, but for the atrocities you describe committed by the Taliban against the Afghan citizens. I fantasize that a woman will fly the fighter plane that gets the Taliban. I think it would also be poetic justice if a woman prime minister headed Afghanistan afterwards.
Vengeful fantasies aside, I think it would be much more effective long-term if the Muslim world itself exposes, confronts, and eradicates the Taliban.
Ginny