You seem likable Steve but you talk in circles. Killing Muslims with guns(as we are doing) or with nukes is used equally well as a recruiting tool. The problem is Taliban allowing Al Qaida to train in Afghanistan and not handing them over after 9-11. If we had responded with overwhelming force others(Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia) would have reconsidered giving any support monetarily or physically to these groups.
Remember the guys running the countries whether the Taliban, The Sheiks or whomever aren't the ideological nutcases they are just your typical power guys, the nut jobs are the guys doing the attacks. The reason they allow this stuff to go on is it cements their hold on power, but if their very existence is in question they will change their tune and expel these guys or stop the flow of money.
I'd say I've been pretty consistant, I'm not against force, it's just the right use of it. I supported using force to drive the Taliban (who were a strongly ideological group) out of Afganistan. The taking away of resources from this was one of the reasons I was against going into Iraq. Nuking Afganistan however, would have killed innocents above and beyond any reasonable idea of collateral damage.
