redblueamerica.com

Let me do something this morning I rarely do: I will praise President Bush and his administration for its evolving conduct of the War on Terror. They've apparently realized you can't kill all the terrorists and their sympathizers, so they've turned to a Cold War Plan B: Deterrence.

The New York Times reports:

Interviews with more than two dozen senior officials involved in the effort provided the outlines of previously unreported missions to mute Al Qaeda’s message, turn the jihadi movement’s own weaknesses against it and illuminate Al Qaeda’s errors whenever possible.

A primary focus has become cyberspace, which is the global safe haven of terrorist networks. To counter efforts by terrorists to plot attacks, raise money and recruit new members on the Internet, the government has mounted a secret campaign to plant bogus e-mail messages and Web site postings, with the intent to sow confusion, dissent and distrust among militant organizations, officials confirm.

At the same time, American diplomats are quietly working behind the scenes with Middle Eastern partners to amplify the speeches and writings of prominent Islamic clerics who are renouncing terrorist violence.

Officials, the story makes clear, would rather be killing terrorists. But apparently that doesn't work by itself.

So we get this:

“Obviously, hard-core terrorists will be the hardest to deter,” Mr. Vickers said. “But if we can deter the support network — recruiters, financial supporters, local security providers and states who provide sanctuary — then we can start achieving a deterrent effect on the whole terrorist network and constrain terrorists’ ability to operate."

I've often been critical of the Bush Administration -- and conservatives generally -- for not seeming to recognize these concepts. Today, at least, I offer praise.