It's difficult to reconcile with fanatics, but ask yourselves this, are you convinced that you aren't just a little bit fanatical in your own beliefs (to everyone not just you MrH), that we ARE right in enforcing democracy in an Islamic area/state?
Those in power make the rules
Europe enforced it's political systems and Christianity on the world not too long ago. Of course America rebelled and made a really big cup of tea in the end...
Radical Islam could be de-radicalised, but it won't be through war.
I agree fully, the way to get a group that thinks you have done them great wrong to stop wanting to do you great wrong is not by blowing up there country and friends / family.
It's not often I'd agree with John Lennon, but "fighting for peace is a bit like ****ing for viginity". My tuppence.
War has solved a lot of issues, and in some cases has been pretty neccessary for one side to get involved. America needed to fight the British, The Allies needed to fight Germany, etc. Those where very real threats that could not be dealt with any other way.
And the language of the war is interesting. "Terrorists" yes, unless they win, or from there sides perspective. Where the French revolotion fighters terrorists? Chopping off the heads of the aristocrats? WOuld calling them terrorists and destroying there land and killing them off have supressed them? Or added fuel to there fire?
I guess what I am saying is that it is easy to look at them and see the violent nature and realise something must be done as they are a threat, if on a minimal level compared to say... Germany in WW1 & WW2, or the USSR durring the cold war. But people aren't "born" that way, this story of why they hate the west goes back many generations, and neither side is innocent in it.
The west
may have the moral high ground based on the current situation, but there have definately been times when it did not. And from a Middle Eastern perspective, it's debateable if it does now.