Wrong reaction to terrorism

We blew it.

I know this won't be popular, but it's what I know to be true. Our response to terrorism, should have been to suck it up and not step over the line and compromise what we have always claimed our values to be.

While I wouldn't advocate *no* reaction, we have wasted trillions of dollars on homeland security. If the US population had the guts to accept an occasional terror strike, we could take all the money that we've spent on homeland security and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and build the Palastinians their own country with income-producing industries. They could eventually grow rich and compete with Israel with wealth instead of bombs.

No longer can we be self-righteous about human rights, etc. We've proven in the last decade, that if we had a Hitler, we'd be Nazis. Politicians have no choice but to react to terror threats in the most extreme measures, to reassure the sheep that they are safe from the wolf. Even if those short term measures have no other possible outcome than to make the long-term situation worse.

UPDATE: Bill Moyer echos these thoughts (see video clip).