I have a very bad opinion of Colin Powell after his puppet role was revealed in the Iraq war, but I'll get to that later. This quote from his interview in GQ is very relevant to the political debate about terrorism, especially today of all days.

Q: Isn’t the new global threat we face even more dangerous?

Powell: What is the greatest threat facing us now? People will say it’s terrorism. But are there any terrorists in the world who can change the American way of life or our political system? No. Can they knock down a building? Yes. Can they kill somebody? Yes. But can they change us? No. Only we can change ourselves. So what is the great threat we are facing?

I would approach this differently, in almost Marshall-like terms. What are the great opportunities out there—ones that we can take advantage of? It should not be just about creating alliances to deal with a guy in a cave in Pakistan. It should be about how do we create institutions that keep the world moving down a path of wealth creation, of increasing respect for human rights, creating democratic institutions, and increasing the efficiency and power of market economies? This is perhaps the most effective way to go after terrorists.

Many people have turned into scared little bedwetters after the 9/11 attacks who threw their civil rights to the wind while supporting a pre-emptive doctrine which will lead us down the road to hell. I talk about the right wing blogosphere and their talk show buddies of course. Being a NYer, the attacks stunned me, but NY picked itself off the floor and went on with life. These people see jihadists in their rear view mirror every time they get on the highway...