We have to say Islam is about peace. In my limited experience, there are a number of followers of that faith who demostrate great personal gentleness. I don't have the arrogance to say what Islam is about or not about. I have a hard enough time with Catholicism, and seeing as that's my religion, I've studied it more.

But as a national position, we have to make it very clear that we are not at war with Islam. As ObL is learning, the biggest single factor in victory is to choose ones enemy wisely. We can (almost have) crush the Taliban. We might even be able to make certain types of state-sponsored terrorism unworkable. But if we are at war with Islam, we will lose. A nation cannot defeat a major religion. And Islam is quite major. Not only would we fail, but we would be very, very wrong (both in an absolute moral sense and in directly violating what we are about) in the attempt.