Where I think where is a need for clarity here is on "being nice to terrorists" and being "nice" to regular, moderate non terrorist inclined muslims. There seems a great need to blanket Islam, with terrorists. But the two can be divided. Indeed, IMHO if we are to "conquer" in our war on terrorism it is by dividing the two that we will succeed. Divide and conquer is a well known and understood phrase.
Being "nice" to terrorists is, IMHO a waste of time. The extremists seek an unatainable goal, well one that is not acceptable to the West in general and the US in particular. There will be a loser in a military sense, either the terrorist/extremists or Western Democracies. I think the loser would be "them" not "us".
There is however, benefit in "being nice" to moderate muslims by listening to the genuine grievences they may have with the West ( or the US) and seeing if there is a way we can accommodate their wishes, views and ideals without any great loss to ourselves. If we can separate moderate and extreme Islam from one another, show the moderates that the extremists are a far greater danger to their hopes and dreams than we are, we can make the battle between the West and Islamic extremism (maybe less than 10% of their total population) as opposed to making the battle simply the West against all of Islam. A battle against extremists is one that can be won with moderate bloodshed, a battle against all Islam is won that can only be won by the deaths of hundreds of millions of people. I'm far from convinced it's a war we would win, and even if we did manage to do so, it's a fight that would cost us many of the lives of our young, much of our wealth and perhaps most importantly we would lose something of what makes our society strong and damage it's vitality. Even in victory, we could be dealt a fatal wound.
The result of America's ignoring the pleas of moderate Islam to cease, slow down or alter some of it's economic and political policies is that it backs up the claims of the extremists that America knows what it's doing and is deliberately trying to undermine Islam's sensibilities. I don't think this is the case, but I can see why moderate muslims fall to the extremists line of argument, when their own reasonable requests are treated with contempt, ignorance and a stoney silence.
I agree with much that the "anonymous" author has put forward in that quoted article, but in particular I would requote
Osama bin Ladens genius lies not simply in calling for jihad, but in articulating a consistent and convincing case that Islam is under attack by America
I KNOW that OBL and his like are wrong when they claim Islam is under attack from America, but I can fully understand why many muslims believe that is the case. The lack of explanation of actions, the unwillingness to tone down deeds, the ignoring of perfectly reasonable requests and the relentless pushing of the Western media ( films, music, TV etc) in what seems (wrongly IMHO) to be pushing "the
YOUTH/RAP CULTURE American dream" of "beeeetches ,Ho's, sex,drugs and RocknRoll" is what is REALLY dividing the West with moderate Islam.
IMHO most right wing Americans would find they have a great deal in common with moderate muslims in that both groups desire a society where their children can grow up in peace, where they do not face a world where people try to encourage their children prematurely into lives where drugs, over doses, unmarried/single teen pregnancies, "on demand abortions" and sexual disease is an everyday occurance. Where their youth show respect to their elders, where crime is not treated as a "badge of honour" among young gangs and perhaps most of all where the youth of those societies are not ridiculed, by their contemporaries, for wanting to show their devotion to their God.
It really makes you think that no matter what we do, it isn't going to change their minds. 
Agreed?
Come on...They may not think of us kindly because of something like that, but you honestly believe these people are blowing themselves up over women wearing bikinis ?
