...to come out of yesterday's atrocity - I can think of nothing that could do more to unite America. As a nation our diversity and our willingness to accept diverse opinion is part of what has always made us hard to anger. But we are angry now - as a nation.
Fighting an enemy with no location, borders or obvious infrastructure is difficult. Defeating people who feel that death is a way to heaven, regardless of the inhumanity of their actions, is probably impossible. But the effort has to be made. If we don't want to live yesterday over and over - and watch other countries do the same - we have to take those actions we can.
If the individual terrorist is an elusive target, their hosts are not. At the very least it has to be clear that any organization that is big enough to see will be smashed, and any country that clearly hosts them will be severely punished.
This is war, of a new sort. A difficult war, true, but all we can do is go on the offense and fight it as best we can. To try to defend ourselves from an unpredictable shadow would mean giving up many of our rights and freedoms (not an option), and would ultimately fail.
- Yoj
