Bill,

Unfortunately Bob's World's approach about addressing underlying causes/drivers for this conflict (I'm talking about AQ, not the Taliban) won't work, and we need to take off our politically correct blinders and realize they want the world to submit to their version of Islam and Shari'a law.
Who thinks that AQ doesn't want that? AQ has, after all, made it pretty clear. There are no political blinders regarding what AQ wants, IMO. What there is is a difference of opinion regarding what kind of threat AQ poses and, by extension, what resources and attention are required to mitigate the threat as well as the best way to go about it. AQ's desires, by themselves, are not a threat to anyone. Their capabilities are very limited and fall far, far short of what would be required to cause one nation to submit to them much less the world.