Well, the "Army" branch of the Project Valour-IT campaign, the blog drive to get voice-activated laptops to wounded troops. Quoth Army leader Blackfive:

Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss (Captain Chuck Ziegenfuss' father), provides voice-controlled software and laptop computers to wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand and arm injuries or amputations at major military medical centers. Operating laptops by speaking into a microphone, our wounded heroes are able to send and receive messages from friends and loved ones, surf the 'Net, and communicate with buddies still in the field without having to press a key or move a mouse.

Valour-IT's online fundraising competition begins today! Let's see who can raise the most money to help reconnect our wounded warriors with the world!

Sir, yes sir.

Give today.

The snail mail address for those who'd rather donate that way (be sure to put ARMY in big letters on the check):

Soldiers' Angels
1150 N Loop 1604 W, Suite 108-493
San Antonio, TX 78248

Reynolds has a good round-up on some of the latest news in anti-aging technology, initially focusing on caloric restriction and compounds that mimic the effects of caloric restriction, notably resveratrol, which is found in red wine. Being a proponent of the "have cake and eat it to" school of thought, the good professor downplays the utility of caloric restriction:

That's absolutely right. Calorie restriction is unlikely to work in humans -- and I'm not sure it's worth it anyway -- but drugs that mimic its effects are another thing entirely.

By "unlikely to work," he means "will not drastically extend lifespan." And he's correct:

To emulate the mice experiments, calorie restriction of humans would need to start around 2 or 3 years of age and provide all necessary nutrients. A fully-grown human adult raised on a 40% calorie restricted diet would weigh 75 pounds instead the normal 150 pounds. Presumably such humans could live to an age of 120 years under ideal conditions ...

That said, there's every indication that caloric restriction (both moderate and severe) can help slow and prevent degenerative processes and maintain quality of life to a point just before one kicks:

Technology Review: What's the most striking finding you've seen in those following a calorie-restricted diet so far?

John Holloszy: They are powerfully protected against the diseases of old age, such as heart disease. They have low levels of cholesterol and triglycerides and extremely low blood pressure -- similar to a young child, around 100/60. As a result of the low blood pressure, they have less strain on the arteries, which are much more elastic than usual for people of their age. Their hearts resemble the heart of a person 17 years younger. They also have very good insulin sensitivity, so they are not going to get Type 2 diabetes.

Besides the celebrated increase in longevity, tests subjects in caloric restriction experiments display marked vitality until death. So it's not a bad strategy to stave off deterioration, especially in moderate incarnations that focus on maintaining low blood sugar levels and ideal weight:

Scientists from the University of Florida's Institute on Aging have found that eating a little less food and exercising a little more over a lifespan can reduce or even reverse aging-related cell and organ damage in rats.

The discovery, described this month in the journal Antioxidants and Redox Signaling, builds on recent research in animals and humans that has shown a more drastic 20 percent to 40 percent cut in calories slows aging damage. The UF findings indicate even small reductions in calories could have big effects on health and shed light on the molecular process responsible for the phenomenon, which until now has been poorly understood.

A good sumation of caloric restriction is here.

Regarding the potential of a "resveratrol pill" that tricks the body into thinking that it's hungry, I have concerns/curiosity about what this does to energy storage and utilization when one is actually exercising and eating a normal or heavy diet. If the anti-aging effects are a result of reduced cell metabolism (mitochondrial energy production, waste creation and disposal), what does it mean to require the cells to process normal diet and activity while tricking them into thinking they don't have to? I suppose we'll find out.

This seems pretty significant:

Pakistani troops backed by helicopters on Monday raided a religious school purportedly being used as an al-Qaida training center, killing 80 people in the country's deadliest strike ever against suspected Islamic militants, the military said.

The pre-dawn missile strike on the religious school _ known as a madrassa _ sparked angry protests in Chingai, Khar and other Bajur towns. Local leaders and witnesses said all those killed were students and teachers.

The tensions threatened to derail peace efforts between government officials and leaders in this tribal region, which has long been a hive of militant activity opposed to Pakistani troops in the area and U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

Predictably, it isn't playing well in certain quarters of Pakistani society.

Roggio has real analysis, including speculation that it was an American airstrike.

A deceased Marine's correspondence to his family:

My first impression of the Iraqis is that I really like them. They are warm and hospitable and the friendliest people I've met. I also feel very sorry for them. Their lives are out of their hands and they have known nothing but dictators (Saddam) and occupiers (us) for years. As we convoyed at high speeds thru the town (speed is the best defense against IEDs) you could clearly see the look on the eyes of the people: sick and tired. First a generation of Saddam, now insurgents and occupiers. Everyone makes promises and no one keeps them.

Read the whole thing.

I'll stick with Harry Potter.

Relevant analysis at Hot Air.

*** The CIA's new recruiting campaign:

James Joyner pans it:

Overall, though, much like the recent U.S. Army recruiting commercials, I find them weak. The characters look wimpy and the voiceover announcer is bland. While the life of a spy isn't much at all like a James Bond movie, that image is a major reason highly intelligent young people are willing to put their lives on the line for meager pay.

*** "JAFI Watch #1:" Dean's got a point.

And I believe that he picks some relatively tame comments from LGF.

*** Glenn Reynolds on Katharine Mary Hamnation: "She was born to videoblog!"

A rarified encomium among the Nerd People. In contrast, I was merely born to "ferret-blog."

*** Robert is slogging through the poor writing in WWII Ace Pappy Boyington's memoir:

Reading this book is proving to be a bizarre experience. On the one hand, this is prime source material from a historical perspective. The man was right in the thick of the air war in China and over the South Pacific in WWII, shooting down 28 Japanese planes before being shot down and imprisoned himself, and later receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor for his exploits. I mean, he is the history.

On the other hand, his memoir is painfully awful to read, combining the styles of Harold Robbins and Lee Iacocca with the twisted flights of logic of Puddy from Seinfeld.

I hate to sap his last motivation, but the Commissar panned the history presented in the book as well. Check out the Acepilots profile.

*** I was at the University of Florida when Danny Rolling was sentenced to death for his sadistic rampage in 1990. Yesterday:

Never once did he mention sorrow nor regret for his deadly Gainesville rampage 16 years ago that snuffed out five young people. Nor did he sing of the pain it caused, or ask for forgiveness.

And there was little forgiveness coming from the dozen family members in the witness room that was packed with 30 other spectators.

Ricky Paules, the mother at whom Rolling had glanced, said she had one reaction: ``Hatred. Very, very bitter throughout the whole thing. I saw his breath go out of him. . . . We waited for this time. And justice was done.''

History here.

First link via Donnah, who comments on death penalty protestors at his execution:

I'm an environmentalist at heart, and consider my tears to be a precious natural resource. Don't expect me to waste them on guys like Rolling.

The LA Times:

Within the Army's tightly knit community of counterinsurgency experts, Lt. Col. John Nagl is something of a star.

When the Army and Marine Corps decided to rewrite their field manual on how to fight insurgents last year, Nagl was chosen as one of its authors. His doctoral thesis on guerrilla wars was just republished in paperback with an approving foreword by the Army's chief of staff.

But when Nagl's two-year stint in the Pentagon ended this month, he did not, like most accomplished soldiers of his rank, take command of an armored battalion headed back to Iraq. Instead, he shipped out to this sprawling base in rural Kansas where the Army is attempting what some consider its most ambitious structural change since the Vietnam War.

Here, amid rolling fields dotted by scores of quickly built barracks, the Army is building a training base that by early next year will be turning as many as 2,000 of its most promising midlevel officers into military advisors every two months, most of them headed to Iraq.

*** The anti-Dixie Chick.

*** Stephen Vincent has been posthumously honored with the Kurt Schork journalism award:

Both Schork and Vincent gained their reputations reporting from countries relieved of oppressive dictators but in transition to destinies still unknown. Like Schork, Vincent only found his true calling as a foreign correspondent in his 40s, and like Schork, he was killed in action. Like Schork, Vincent refused to strain his reporting through the sieve of ideology; he went where the action was and reported what he saw.

*** Vladimir Putin's open-mic candor:

"Say hi to your president. He turned out to be quite a powerful person! Raped ten women! We?re all amazed. We all envy him!"

Interesting frame of reference you have there.

*** Yep: "All Crashes Should Be So Good:"

With all the dismal reports about the home real estate market, don't lose track of something critically important: Mortgage interest rates have been falling quietly but steadily for weeks and are now at their lowest level in half a year, barely a percentage point above 40-year lows.

New mortgage applications are up sharply, the number of pending home sales is up, the national economy continues to expand moderately and the rate of unemployment just declined again, to 4.6 percent.

All of which raises the question: Just what kind of housing bust is this anyway? With gloom-and-doom purveyors forecasting imminent crashes in dozens of metropolitan areas, how could such key fundamentals as jobs, interest rates and even pending home sales simultaneously be trending in the opposite direction?

In an article headlined "U.S. Officials: Iraqi Security Could Be Ready in 12-18 Months," the second paragraph reads:

Acknowledging that weeks of escalating bloodshed have had a demoralizing effect on American perceptions of the conflict, Gen. George W. Casey Jr. and U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad spoke bluntly about the growing civil strife in and around Baghdad and the challenges it poses. Casey, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, said it was possible that the number of U.S. troops there would need to grow in coming months, before Iraqi security forces can begin to take control.

The question: are we talking about a few thousand, or the truly large increases (with the start of a requisite military expansion) requested from various quarters?

UPDATE: Rashomon, Iraq-style:

"GOP Senator Say Iraq Is Near Chaos"

"We're on the verge of chaos, and the current plan is not working," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in an Associated Press interview. U.S. and Iraqi officials should be held accountable for the lack of progress, said Graham, a Republican who is a frequent critic of the administration's policies.

Mario Loyola in NRO:

I hate to call for a parade in the middle of a thunderstorm, but the fact is that democracy - the political process of self-government - is plainly succeeding in Iraq. The violence has slowed it down, but has not been able to stop it. Indeed, the reconstruction effort remains much more vast than the insurgency, which has never been able to achieve national scope and will never achieve national unity.

Commissar:

"Good news from Iraq - Terrorists running out of bullets!"

And Dave Price:

The most interesting aspect to the Sadr-related conflicts so far is the relative competence of the Iraqi Army. They seem have to 5:1 or 10:1 kill ratios in every engagement with Sadr's people, who from most accounts are little more than street gangs with AKs and RPGs. With the Kurdish militias remaining essentially passive, the IA seems to already be the pre-eminent native active military force in the country, which bodes well for the continuity of the elected government.

This one is for the Commissar.

*** The Thin Green Line

This violent weekend proves that America needs to radically change its course in Iraq, while some form of victory still lies within our grasp. First, the U.S. military must reverse its trend of consolidation and redeploy its forces into Iraq's cities. Efficiency and force protection cannot define our military footprint in Iraq; if those are our goals, we may as well bring our troops home today. Instead, we must assume risk by pushing U.S. forces out into small patrol bases in the middle of Iraq's cities where they are able to work closely with Iraqi leaders and own the streets. Counterinsurgency requires engagement.
...
Phillip Carter, an attorney and former Army officer, writes on legal and military affairs. He recently returned from a year advising the Iraqi police in Baqubah with the Army's 101st Airborne Division.

*** Militias Splintering Into Radicalized Cells

*** Is Moqtada al Sadr Irrelevant?

... but I'm still on semi-break. Life gets in the way, and all.

UPDATE: Ye-ouch:

According to preliminary research, the typical Internet addict was a single, college-educated, white male in his 30s, who spends approximately 30 hours a week on non-essential computer use.

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

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Former terrorist Walid Shoebat discusses the roots of violent indoctrination:

Via HotAir, which covers Shoebat's disinvitation to speak at Columbia University.

See also: Kesher Talk:

How do you avoid political embarrassment at Columbia University these days?

My e-mail account has fallen victim to another "Joe Job." If you sent me a message in the past few days, there's no guarantee that I saw it through all of the clutter.

I believe that this qualifies as a moderate Muslim "speaking out:"

The leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, recently issued a decree to its supporters: Kill at least one American in the next two weeks "using a sniper rifle, explosive or whatever the battle may require."

Well, Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, I am an American too. Count me as the one of those you have asked your supporters to kill.

I am not alone, there are thousands of Muslims with me in Las Vegas, and many more millions in America, who are proud Americans and who are ready to face your challenge. You hide in your caves and behind the faces of civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq. You don't show your faces and you have no guts to face Muslims. You thrive on the misery of thousands of Muslim youth and children who are victims of despotism, poverty and ignorance.

During the past two decades, you have brought nothing but shame and disaster to your religion and your world.
...
You say that the word of God is the highest. Yes, it is. But you are not worthy of it. You have abandoned God and you have started worshipping your own satanic egos that rejoice at the killing of innocent people. You don't represent Muslims or, for that matter, any decent human being who believes in the sanctity of life. Many among us American Muslims have differences with our administration on domestic and foreign issues, just like many other Americans do. But the plurality of opinions does not mean that we deprive ourselves of the civility that God demands from us. America is our home and will always be our home. Its interests are ours, and its people are ours. When you talk of killing of Americans, you first have to kill 6 million or so Muslims who will stand for every American's right to live and enjoy the life as commanded by God.

Sounds a bit like "shared humanistic values."

Read the rest. And let me know if Robert Spencer does a line-by-line fisking.

(Via Milblogs Archive)

It looks liket it was a low yield nuke. The only thing we civilians have to look at as far as empirical data goes is the Richter scale reading. If you go by the USGS value of 4.2, it's about the energy of a 2 kiloton nuclear bomb, going by a chart on this page, search for "TNT". A 4.0 has an energy equivalent of a 1 kiloton bomb. It doubles from 4.0 to 4.2 because the Richter scale is a logarithmic scale. Loosely speaking, increases of 0.2 double the kiloton equivalent and decreases of 0.2 halve it. There have been various Richter values given for the blast, from 3.58 to 4.2, which would range roughly to 250 tons to 2000 tons of TNT equivalent. And even that is only a very loose guideline. It is only the energy equivalent, and isn't a terribly accurate way to determine the explosive power of the source.

The best we can estimate from the Richter values is that it was at most a low-yield nuclear device, and it's within the realm of possibility that it was caused by a conventional explosive. Defense Tech says "No one has ever dudded their first test of a simple fission device. North Korean nuclear scientists are now officially the worst ever." This is true to an extent - they are (probably) the worst scientists to successfully build a nuclear bomb. For another point of comparison, the best estimates of the yield of the bombs dropped on HIroshima and Nagasaki have been in the 10 to 20 kiloton range. Tempted as I am to make fun of the North Koreans by, say, making an image like this:

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Taking the week off.

Stephen King channels Jack Torrence's bloody roque mallet:

Ron Williamson went through the horrors of the damned, and he's been much on my mind the last couple of weeks as I force-fed myself doses of Ms. Grace, the Darth Vader of CNN Headline News (which, like this magazine, is owned by Time Warner). And before you accuse me of writing about news in your favorite entertainment magazine, let me assure you that Nancy Grace is entertainment...if, that is, you're the sort who watches NASCAR for the crashes and Survivor hoping no one will. In the increasingly weird world of infotainment, she is the belle of the Freakers Ball.

Nancy Grace - puffy-cheeked, helmet-haired, heavy-lidded, strangely expressionless even during her frequent rages - conveys by body language alone the idea that we're all guilty of something...and she knows it. Her specialty is the sorts of tabloid crimes The National Enquirer used to cover in the bad old days, when car-crash photos and Mexican decapitations were staples. George Pelecanos, James Ellroy, and Michael Connelly are able to elevate such horrors to art; Nancy Grace degrades them so deeply into the fleapit of the imagination that a week of her makes Dick Cheney highlight reels look good. And like Puritan elders, Wild West hanging judges, or Madame Defarge knitting in the shadow of the guillotine, Nancy Grace gives the sense that somehow, someway, she just knows whodunit.

That was perhaps the kind part, as King goes on to pan Grace's behavior surrounding the Linda Duckett suicide.

"Spin the Bottle: Mark Foley's 10-step rehab program"

Today's must-reads are two stories of drive, bravery and heartbreaking sacrifice.

First is the death of Army 2nd Lieut. Emily Perez:

U.S. Army 2nd Lieut. Emily Perez, 23, was buried Tuesday at West Point, on a high bluff overlooking the Hudson River, alongside two centuries of fallen graduates from the United States Military Academy. She was the first combat death from the 2005 graduating class - called "the class of 9/11" because they arrived at the prestigious school just two weeks before the terror attacks. She was also the first female West Point graduate to be killed in Iraq.

And next is Marine Lance Corporal Christopher Adlesperger's posthumous Medal of Honor nomination:

On Nov. 10, 2004, in 30 minutes of close combat, Marine Pfc. Christopher Adlesperger, a soft-spoken, religious young man who loved poetry and art, attacked an enemy stronghold in Fallouja, Iraq, and killed at least 11 insurgents.
...
"It's a hard thing to explain, but somehow I just felt compelled to say goodbye," said Malay in a soft, slow voice during an interview in Carlisle, Pa., where he is attending the Army War College.

"He had a touch of greatness."

I've kept the excerpts short, as both deserve a full read.

Time Magazine: Why We Don't Have Enough Troops in Iraq:

It's the glimmers of hope that make the realities in Iraq so heartbreaking. Residents of Ur say that with the Strykers around, sectarian murders have all but disappeared. Neighbors emerge from their homes to chat and allow their sons and daughters to play in the street. But the Iraqis and Americans know that such sanity won't last. Though 12,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops have moved to the capital to try to defuse sectarian violence, the level of killing across the city remains as high as ever. That's because the U.S. doesn't have enough troops to maintain the peace in the areas they've secured, instead relying on Iraqi units who have yet to prove they can impose order. In Ghazaliyah, a west Baghdad neighborhood the 172nd Strykers cleared weeks earlier, violence has already gone back up to previous levels. For all the progress made in Ur, the troops know the cycle is bound to repeat itself there too. "We leave," says Sergeant First Class Joshua Brown, as his Stryker pulls out of Ur city, "and it turns into f------ Somalia."

New York Times: Military Hones a New Strategy on Insurgency:

The United States Army and Marines are finishing work on a new counterinsurgency doctrine that draws on the hard-learned lessons from Iraq and makes the welfare and protection of civilians a bedrock element of military strategy.
...
"The Army will use this manual to change its entire culture as it transitions to irregular warfare," said Jack Keane, a retired four-star general who served in 2003 as the acting chief of staff of the Army. "But the Army does not have nearly enough resources, particularly in terms of people, to meet its global responsibilities while making such a significant commitment to irregular warfare."
...
The spirit of the document is captured in nine paradoxes that reflect the nimbleness required to win the support of the people and isolate insurgents from their potential base of support - a task so complex that military officers refer to it as the graduate level of war.
...
The limited number of forces was also a constraint. To mass enough troops to storm Falluja, an insurgent stronghold, in 2004, American commanders drew troops from Haditha, another town in western Iraq. Insurgents took advantage of the Americans' limited numbers to attack the police there. Iraqi policemen were executed, dealing a severe setback to efforts to build a local force.

Frank G. Hoffman, a retired Marine infantry officer who works as a research fellow at an agency at the Marine base at Quantico, Va., said that in 2005, the Marines sometimes lacked sufficient forces to safeguard civilians. As a result, while these forces were often effective "in neutralizing an identifiable foe, they could not stay and work with the population the way the classical counterinsurgency would suggest."

Read the whole thing.

Via the PD, which features additional commentary.

*** Omar from Iraq the Model comments on the recent opinion polls that show a lack of support for the American presence in Iraq:

We should not expect pleasing answers from confused people, living in extremely difficult conditions, subjected to extreme emotional, physical and psychological stress and being misguided and misinformed by biased media and corrupt leaders.

More round-up of Iraqi and Afghan opinion at the CotL.

*** Malkin: "The Foley mess: deal with it"

Sound advice.

*** Don't miss Patterico's exclusive interview with an Army nurse formerly stationed at Guantanamo Bay:

I asked him that very question: what are the detainees like? Stashiu said:

For many of them, think Ted Bundy. Educated, charming, and without conscience for those they consider infidels. Some are truly ill and were taken advantage of because of it. For example, one routinely asked us for an explosive suicide vest so he could assassinate Osama Bin Laden or George Bush for us, whoever he could find first (he was completely serious).

Part One: Introduction

Part Two: Stashiu Arrives at GTMO and Describes the Terrorists

*** Some distant day, years in the future, historians will look back and ask when exactly Indian culture surpassed our own. And the answer will be ... "1987." (dorkafork disputes this: It may have been as early as 1982.)

In the WSJ, a former infantry platoon leader and civil-military operations officer in Iraq argues that more troops are required to complete the job. I recently had a disagreement in our comments section with readers who staked the position that adding more American personnel would be counterproductive, assuming that current force levels strike a delicate balance between inflaming the local population and providing security. First Lt. Hegseth disagrees:

In due time, the Iraqi Security Forces will take over Samarra, but they are not ready yet. If the Americans left today, the Iraqis would be co-opted by the insurgents--who are utterly ruthless, willing to kill family members of policemen or decapitate Iraqi soldiers to preserve disorder. It will take time. Both the Iraqi Army and Samarra Police need to get bloodied a bit and bounce back, proving their strength to the people. They will eventually be ready, but until then, security belongs to us.

I also understand calling for more troops is contrary to conventional thinking inside government and the military. Supporters of the current approach argue sending more troops would further inflame anti-American sentiment, incite more violence and retard independent progress. My experience suggests otherwise. American troops are tolerated, even welcomed when they effectively provide security; but their presence is cursed when it does not accompany progress. Violence persists not because American troops are present, but because our presence is futile. Many local leaders asked us, "How come the most powerful country in the world cannot defeat local criminals and thugs?" They suggested our failure was part of a larger conspiracy to keep the Iraqi people suffering.

Via the Commissar, whose recent angry denunciation of Iraq as "totally hopeless" is also directly contradicted by Hegseth:

I have not lost the optimism that sent me to Iraq. We did make gains. Our 10-man civil-affairs team established good relationships with brave Iraqi leaders and sat across from them as equals. I watched city leaders battle insurgents, not only with guns but with newspapers and economic development. By the time we left, the City Council was meeting on its own accord and with increasing legitimacy, forming committees to oversee fuel allocation, new construction and security. Increased home construction was evident and local markets were open.

Read the whole thing.

*** Bill Crawford rounds-up good news from Iraq in NRO. One snippet:

Six Iraqi army division headquarters, 26 brigade headquarters and 88 battalions have the lead in their own areas - almost 70 percent of the Iraqi Army, and an increase of five division headquarters, 22 brigade headquarters and 65 battalions since November 2005.

*** Catalano's Faster than the World is hosting a Halloween fiction contest:

Everyone loves a scary story. Why not try your hand at writing one? With Halloween approaching, we are giving you the chance to give us a scare or two for the holiday.

My entry will be about Mark Foley.

*** Florida Cracker notes that Australia is "a civilization in decay."

*** After reading this post, I've decided to rename my co-blogger "Dhimmifork." Not because I disagree - just because it has a nice ring to it.

*** A well-known Republican blogger makes a switch:

Why I am voting Democratic in 2006

He's just doing it to score weekend usage of the Provincetown beach house.

UPDATE: And another houseguest for Sullivan. (Profanity warning)

*** A Roggio two-fer:

[High Value Target] #6 - al-Qaeda's Emir of Anbar Province Killed:

Task Force 145, the global hunter-killers of high value al-Qeda targets, is conducting a full court press in Iraq. The Kuwaiti News Agency reports al-Qaeda's Emir in Anbar province, Khalid Mahal, and Nasif Al-Mawla, his aide, were killed during an operation in the Thar Thar region. An American intelligence source will not comment on Mahal's death but did state "operations are ongoing."

And ...

Anbar Tribes vs. al-Qaeda

Less than two weeks after 25 of the 31 predominately Sunni tribes in Anbar Province pledged to fight al-Qaeda and support the Shiite led government of Prime Minister Maliki, the tribes have taken a shot against al-Qaeda fighters. Reuters reports five al-Qaeda were captured in the city of Ramadi, "including three foreign fighters from Yemen."

I only want to address this indirectly, by adding to arguments made or highlighted by Bill or myself over and over and over again on the use of "Islamofascism" vs. "Islam."

There is an argument that Islam is, by its nature, incompatible with democracy. This idea has popped up with unfortunate frequency on various right-wing websites, more often among the comments. (For example, here, here, and here.)

There are, broadly speaking, 3 different approaches to the War On Terror:
1) Promoting a peaceful version of Islam, mainly through the spread of democracy.
2) Convert them all.
3) Do nothing/Give the terrorist what they want/Other.

There are also 3 different views on Islam itself:
1) It is possible for Islam to reform/be compatible with democracy.
2) It is not possible for Islam to reform/be compatible with democracy.
3) I don't know for sure.

Now how do these views match up? As far as approaches to the WoT, let's exclude the 3rd option. Both number 2's match up pretty obviously: if Islam cannot reform, and Islam is the source of terror, then to fight terror you're going to want to get rid of Islam. Both number 1's match up for similar reasons: if it is possible for Islam to reform, then you'll want to support that reformation. But I fail to see how to reconcile any combination of 2's and 1's. It would be odd to call for the extermination of Islam when one believes that Islam can coexist peacefully with the West. Similarly it would make no sense to promote democracy in the Islamic world if Islam is fundamentally incompatible with democracy. It would be a waste of time and effort.

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On Glenn and Helen Reynolds' latest podcast, globetrotting blogger Michael Totten reveals "the biggest underreported story in the Arab world:"

Algeria is a place where Islamism is finished. Fifteen years ago, Islamism was fairly popular in Algeria, and the Islamists actually won an election. And the military voided the election, which instigated unspeakable civil war where about 150,000 people were killed. They were homegrown, domestic salafists, as they call themselves, which are basically the Wahhabis of North Africa ... and their hit list was long and gruesome. I mean, it was impossible for a normal kind of person to be in the type of category in Algerian society that was not on the Islamists' hit list. Basically the Islamists look at a very complicated Mediterranean country that was part of France for 150 years, and they said you are either just like us, you are gonna be extreme Islamists like us, or we're going to kill you.
...
That war is finally over ... [Islamism is] dead. It's dead for two reasons: one because the military beat it, and the other reason is because after people had to live through this ordeal for fifteen years, those who voted in the Islamists, very naively, I think, realized that it wasn't such a great idea after all; these people are complete lunatics. And they didn't even take over the country and still managed to kill this many people. And so, Algerian culture has done a huge shift from being either Islamist or naively pro-Islamist, to being much, much, much more liberal and democratic than it was. The women are taking off the headscarf and they're reorienting themselves towards Europe ... it is very hopeful, and yeah, getting there, well, it was pretty bad.

This is a difficult example of the first scenario described in my summary of Zakaria's book.

Totten goes on to compare Algeria to Iran, where the popularity of Islamism has also waned, as well as discuss the depressing challenges of societies learning these lessons the long, hard way. If you download the file, the Algerian discussion begins at 26:11. The rest of the interview includes his first-hand perspective on Israel, Libya and Lebanon. Check it out.