Kevin, just as cavalry was already obsolete in WWI but some generals were deterrmined that a few glorious charges would end the war, the days of the big guns and big batallions to achieve "victory" are obsolete as well. You can nuke the entire middle east to a 2-foot-thick slab of glass and thereby win a resounding traditional victory, but a handful of dedicated survivors with a few small glass vials can still terrorise your entire population and make people afraid to use the subway, visit the mall, send their kids to school.

That's what your government is grappling with. The hard question is WHY. Why would anybody want to do this to you. What must be done to remove the incentive. If you look at the idea of nuking or smashing in with overwhelming force, you'll see why some people are hesitant to do that in 2007.