They are clearly beginning to execute the next phase of their strategy. They know that to win in Iraq, the United States needs allies inside Iraq. The same tenet applies in Afghanistan. We have brought these proud peoples a really big mess. We invaded their countries and took away their governments. They were bad ones to be sure but they were still the basic model for running their lives. Having created a vacuum we can now only win politically by filling it with something better. Everyone warned us it would be a consuming and complex undertaking. We did it anyway. Now like it or not we have created world expectation that we will build from the ashes the most difficult kind of nation-state models ever devised on earth. Pluralistic societies based on respect among different cultures.

US personnel working the theater know very well that in order to reach an outcome that is in the national interest of the United States of America that "the Crusaders must become the bestowers of ultimate power to the Muslim tribes of Iraq and Afghanistan" as philosophers and historians will most likeky record this episode many years from now. It means that we, a Judeo-Christian people, must do nothing less that become the strongest advocates and protectors of Islam, a set of anthropological sub-cultures not well understood by most Americans. This reality has yet to be clearly communicated to the US people by the administration.

Arrayed against us are the forces of the Baath, the Taliban and Al Qaeda. It's still not obvious to everyone that these are non-religious movements. They are a criminal disease that has been consuming the world for more than a decade. Street gangs with artillery is a better analogy. These warlord dictators want power at any price. And that price clearly includes killing prominent Muslims.

As we approach the second anniversary of September 11th, 2001 they have put the word out that anyone who cooperates with the West will be annihilated. The price of seeking peace and stability is death. No Imam who cooperates with America will be allowed to live. No infrastructure assistance organization will be permitted to operate in safety. The strategy is simple. Let the Americans identify the targets as we attempt to nation build then just blow them up or assassinate them. It's a campaign strategy that is beginning to work. We are now seeing good people, Muslim people, back away from the reconstruction process. It's not because they think we're wrong. Far from it. It's because they don't want to die. I can't blame them really.

So now the challenge for our strategists is to devise our response. Whatever our response is, it must take the initiative away from the enemy. The solution must be on our terms. Terms that negate their present advantage. Their approach's weakness is that relies on our passivity to succeed. It is our choice whether or not to let them win.