The Patriot Act

"The Patriot Act must be fixed. POTUS claims it is similar to laws used against drug traffickers, but drugs still get into the US. New traffickers appear because it's lucrative," from a New Jersey Republican.

The Patriot Act expands federal power without accomplishing much in return. It allows the DOD to continue its 'high-tech' campaign-style in a time requiring more tangible efforts. There are sensible solutions; securing access to the nation (borders & ports, air and sea), standardized identification cards (with an emphasis against forgery), immigration reform (with compassion and community participation; honest, hardworking people should be fast-tracked to citizenship), and defense investment with expanded foreign intelligence-collection (more agents on the ground).

As long as there is funding for the Islamo-fascist movement (from private individuals and state governments), there will be a struggle against it. The US is a symbol, used by this movement as the ultimate evil in the world and the source of all their followers' miseries. Drawing away will not stop their fundamentalist, misogynist rhetoric; it will supercharge the radicals.

This conflict will not always be war on the battlefield, but it will be a long process. I detest the Islamo-fascist epithet; I think the struggle will more closely resemble the extended, ideological competition with communism. If the US establishes constitutional governments and secure civil institutions, in Iraq and Afghanistan, the overall conflict will be shorter.