What would you do about terrorists?

I'd develop a close-to-the-street intelligence network, working with anyone who may be helpful, worldwide.   England, Germany, Spain, Italy and France are years ahead of us with this, they've been dealing with terrorists for many years and the Israelis are masters at it.  Our intelligence services are bloated with unimaginative desk jockeys who's instincts have long been deadened by lack of real, first hand knowledge of the enemy.

I'd divert money away from the development of large and ineffectual military machines and armies to the development of sophisticated hand held intelligence gathering technologies.  We don't need satellite photos we need surveillance equipment that can be pointed at mosques, kiosks and taxi cabs.  I wouldn't be against the enlisting of criminals to help in the war against terrorists.  Criminals are all about street smarts, instincts honed on survival and heightened sensitivities to subtle human communication.

Patience is a key to success, this will take time and we don't have that but there aren't any short cuts.  It would help if we could enlist some Arabs who hate the terrorists for corrupting the image of a true believer of peace.

I would do anything to stop the flow of money to the terrorists.  I would try stopping the flow of oil from the middle east and start a race to come up with alternative fuels.  I would tax the hell out of SUV owners, give tax credits to buyers of alternative technology cars, limit the profits of oil companies, add tax to the price of fuel (I figure between the lessening of profits for oil companies and the added taxes on gas the cost will be about $2 a gallon which would make people think twice about the consumption of their vehicles and homes) and break up OPEC, a monopoly that should never have been allowed to exist.

We live in the world with others and can't isolate ourselves and can't bully or coerce others to do what we want them to do.

Probably before anything we should get our military out of the middle east, especially Saudi Arabia.  We should create a UN weapons manufactering watch commitee to oversee and limit the manufacture and sale of arms, all arms, including handguns, land to air missles and land mines.  Who are these companies that are making and selling this stuff?  Why don't we place a moratorium on all new weapons manufacturing?  We should know who is buying these weapons and what they want them for.

"Waging war for peace is like screwing for virginity." some zen priest or was it the Dixie Chics?