BLaden is **** stirring. Not surprising (or relieving, depending on your prejudices) that no countries felt stirred by his truce, which is just that, not even a negociation, which even it wouldn't be interesting since he has no political credibility. Public masses can't be let become impressed and string-pulled by BL, his propaganda and scare tactics and **** stirring need to be debunked by the governements, there should be a closer agreement between governments and their respective people.
Islamism is a Nazi lookalike, really. Nazi fascists were fought as they deserved back then, why shouldn't they be now?
"Democracy" is probably not what people of Irak want, that's democracy with quotes, in the sense that someone upstream the thread mentionned: the only way they'll (and the rest of the muslim world) not feel agressed, is if you let them live their traditions. God knows how long they've followed them, how central it is to their lives.
If you want to really have an impact against islamist terrorism, you need to fight Islamism ideologically. IMO no one really deals with it (for ex. in important speeches etc), sort of afraid to break the stupid PC rules, to dirty their hands or something.
Either naive or careless or ignorant, but in my opinion fighting it at that root will be more effective than just using remedies after-the-fact.
Not to say that Saddam didn't merit military removal, nor that the US shouldn't defend itself when threatened as it was and still is and unfortunately still will be for a long time.
Sort of like wars on drugs, viruses and scripts and spam aren't going away anytime soon from the net with only brute scorched earth tactics.