Terrorists - Winning when they lose?

For me, when events like the plot on British airlines coming to the US and the Middle Eastern students MIC (missing in country) in the US occur, I feel that the terrorists win each and every time. Even if they did not succeed in destroying planes, they won by slowing down our commerce. Still I must say, "Thank God for the Bobbies." While I can appreciate the need for security, etc., I fear as well the fact that thousands of Americans are now trained to stop and search Americans of all ages and all physical conditions herding us like cattle through metal detectors, unpacking our luggage. I have always had good experiences with the screeners and do not envy their jobs but how do we balance liberty and security? It seems that we are on a collusion course, a suicide pact if you will, between our Constitution (protecting the nation from invasion) and common sense on one hand, and political correctness on the other. Exactly what characteristics would you look for when looking for a terrorist? To be fair, the snipers (terrorists) who shut down the freeways in Northern Virginia a few years ago and killed many citizens were not from the Middle East; however, they do follow the same ideology. Let me see. We have our Russian friends arming South American nations. Didn't we have the Monroe Doctrine or something to keep this from happening? We have our folks negotiating with the French. The last Frenchman who really supported us was Louis XVI. And we know what happened to him. This is a war. We didn't start it but we'd better be the ones to end it decisively for us, for the British, for other democracies. President Bush said recently that we are fighting Islamic Totalitarianism. Clearly, the only negotiations the terrorists respect is force. Our political parties better get on board and put America first and realize that while they pose and posture for the TV camera in the Senate, they and their pontificating are being used as propaganda all over the world. And the folks who want to kill ordinary citizens don't discriminate. How can any American be "dovish" on this war? The UN is working to marginalize democratic nations with their directives regarding immigration. We had better heed the warnings. Cultures are not morally equivalent. Now, exactly where are those pesky, run-away students? God bless you and God bless America.