"... There is no middle ground with these people, it is all or nothing, and no amount of diplomacy will change that. "
This an an enemy, a threat, like none other that western society has faced in over 300 years. The last time Islam was broadly expansionist, it was checked, IIRC, at the gates of Vienna:
Battle of Vienna - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
What we are facing is test of strength and dominance between Shia and Sunni schools of Islamic faith -- with Western Civilization and values being used
by both sides as the proving ground or arena in which to demonstrate their superiority - to believers
within Islam.
As Camp Hood and other incidents have demonstrated, the enemy can be in our midst day in and day out - not arousing suspicion until it is too late. Communism in the early stages of the Cold War was a relatively defensible enemy compared to a contest with the world's largest religious "faith".
Meatloaf you are right - modern weapons and communications in the hands of 5th Century "believers" is very, very frightening. In Canada, in the UK, in France and the USA, politicians and academics of all stripes are urging accommodation and tolerance. That will not work. Pleasing your sworn enemies only puts Western societies at risk.
Vienna was a "formal" and decisive military encounter - so was Tours almost 800 years before it. Today - the enemy is cloaked amongst the people.
MM