It does not take a great leap of logic to develop a list of potential havens for terrorists. Take any place that has a ineffective or autocratic government, or better yet a theocracy that feeds its people really old-time religion instead of adequate food, clothing and shelter, mix in crushing poverty, a lack of education, a deteriorating environmental situation, inter-tribal conflicts or civil wars, the easy availability of more weaponry and ammunition than food, overpopulation - especially of young men who have no talent except for war - disenfranchised women, and a lack of economic opportunity, and you have a breeding ground. First it was Afghanistan, then Pakistan, now Yemen and Somalia, tomorrow it will be Nigeria, Uganda, Algeria, Tunisia --- you name the location. (You will notice the omission of Iraq - not really quite as failed a state as the others when we invaded and occupied it; we got involved there for reasons only GW Bush and his administration know. And there is evidence that al Quaeda was not there, until US troops arrived.)

What is important is how the developed world, and especially the US deals with the situation it faces in the world. We can continue to send our military to fight in one country after another, but it is certain that those who wish us harm will simply move from one failed (or failing) state to another, ahead of us. We will run out of troops and the money to finance these fruitless foreign adventures long before they run out of places to operate from.

The notion that we can defend ourselves for the long term from the on-going efforts of those who wish us harm is nothing more than a convenient basis for taking away more of our freedoms under the guise of protecting us. It is inevitable that the terrorists will continue to try to strike at us. Without massive armies, air forces, or navies, without missiles or nuclear weaponry, they have done more damage within our borders than any nation we have faced in our history. In his cave in Pakistan, OBL is still laughing his turban off at the immense damage he has done to our society, all for the cost of a few dozen willing 'soldiers'. The terrorists will continue to try, and anyone who believes we can stop every terrorist plot is not paying attention at all.

An alternative would be to isolate those countries and leaders who give havens to terrorists, until and unless they begin to reform their governments and their societies to eliminate the conditions that are conducive to the terroroists operating there. That would include withdrawing aid to the potentates who are not going to use the money except to line their own Swiss bank accounts, or pay for the militias to defend their corrupt power. It would also include cooperation with other nations and better diplomacy to encourage the growth of functioning representative goverments that actually try to better the conditions in which their people have to live. Otherwise, we can continue to spend ourseveles into oblivion, if we want to believe that our shrinking military, walls at our borders, electronic gadgetry and vast sums of borrowed money can ever truly protect us from these adversaries.