The 'War on Terror' is a convenient slogan but whether it is questioned tonight or not is of little relevance on US policy.

As a note, if the US is engaged in a war on terror it would be worth understanding your 'enemy'. Michael Lloyd in Florida might want to do some research on world history prior to the foundation of the US as the Middle East developed a high degree of the foundations behind science such mathematics, architecture etc. It is sad that the majority of governments in that region in the 20th century have done little to encourage their citizens to continue such traditions in their home countries. In a way this suppression of liberal education has allowed the fanatics to gain a stronger foothold.
Us brits are not spineless however we have 50 years of experience in fighting unconvential wars such as Malaya, and N. Ireland - the heavy handed approach in Iraq was never going to work. Read Eating soup with a knife by John Nagl (US ex-colonel)

Andy, Manchester, UK

Islam will be the cause of a third world war in my opinion. It has far too many followers (clerics included) that want a world wide islamic state which is led like something from the dark ages

John, Salford, England

The english speaking peoples have given the world some of its greatest achievements. Without Sir Alexander Flemings discovery of penicillin millions would have perished, not thousands, millions, and thats just one example. And that one example has done more for mankind than all of histories crazed religous fanatics. Western civilisation may have its rough spots, but its still the best game in town, and worth fighting for.

Michael LLoyd, Seminole, Florida

Islam wants it all - the whole world.

So make up your mind. Do you want a modern, 21st century lifestyle, with music and joy and freedom, or do you want to wear dark robes, cover your face/hair and pray 3 times a day?

j griffiths, manchester, England

... or in Canada for that matter?........

iain, Norfolk,

Darren -

IRA terrorists: 1800+ (this being mainly funded by US sympathisers)

Charles, London, England

In response to the people asking how many british have lost thier lives through terrorism, i am in shock at thier lack of knowledge on the subject, especially the americans who have directly financed terrorism on british soil.

Between 1969 and 2001, 3,523 people were killed as a result of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. and i hasten to add that many of the IRA groups were directly financed by american sympathisers.(ref: the troubles, wikipedia)

this total alone far outranks the americans casualties from 9/11(~2900)

this british total is not including the attack in london nor the lockerbie disaster nor 2 hostages killed in the Iranian embassy siege. indeed neither does it include the casualties suffered from the attacks in the 19th century.

Britain has had a long and bloody history in dealing with terrorism folks. we realised you cannot directly combat it after years of futile attempts. as a suggestion to the american learn from your mistakes and use a tactful approach

Daniel-John, Manchester, UK

The war on Terror has always been pile of a hogwash and I'm pretty sure that deep down those that parrot the line know so. It's no more than using 9/11 as a cheap excuse for Britain and America to invade who they want on the flimiest of pretexts. Its an absolute disgrace.

Mark, Newcastle,

Unfortunately, a lot of people like Dick Cheney who use the term "War" have neither experienced it as a Military participant, or as an unwilling Civilian caught up in it. I was born in Southampton, England in 1938, and consequently my whole life experience until the age of 8 was nothing but War. Daily runs to the Air-Raid Shelter, going out after the "All-Clear" to pick up hot, jagged pieces of Shrapnel as Souvenirs, looking at bombed-out homes etc. Naturally our families tried to insulate us from fear and anxiety, but even as kids we could pick up the underlying stress. The only times I have experienced the same feeling was on the night of the big 'Quake Oct. 17th 1989 when we lived in Scotts Valley CA, 4 miles from the epicenter, and to a lesser degree on Sept 11th 2001.

Mike, Chico, USA

Perhaps the next acronym we will hear is BYHITS (Bury Your Head in the Sand). We are at war with islamic extremists, and their tactics are terrorism. Perhaps you don't feel that blowing up cars in public markets is terrorism, and terrorism worth fighting against, but I certainly do. The democrats and other leftists are a bunch of spineless cowards that think fighting your enemies is the act that creates them. That's pure rubbish. All this worthless talk by the spineless is making it worse for our soldiers in the field, and it emboldens the enemy. Sorry folks, but innocent people and young men and women die in war, it's one of the facts of the matter. We're fighting savages that don't care a lick for human life, so get with it and stop crying like a bunch of babies.

Paul, Atlanta,

I am not a fan of terrorism but think THE UK have pillaged
the world in the name of progress check our HISTORY
perhaps we learnt it from the ROMANS but no wonder
other third world and ISSLAMIC people get peed ed off
at us and the USA BUT JUST PERHAPS 9/11 AND7/7 WAS
A WAKE UP CALL for us all to change our ways if children
are brainwashed to hate us they will always hate us so
the suicide bombers are here to stay unless we can find away to make them love us and that's never going to
happen

george william taylor, hull, uk

this is insanity.... the world is under attack from islamists, not just britain and america. as for brits killed islamic terrorists have taken a toll on our troops abroad.
for anyone that thinks we can run away from the war on terror there have been over 8,000 islamic terror attacks since 9/11.

arthur, brighton, england

See? Further evidence that the former courageous defenders of the Isles over the centuries now lack the backbone to defend themselves. As I said in past comments: abolish your armed forces!

Kenneth Lizotte, Bristol, Vermont, USA

Re: "Excuse me, but how many people died in Britain at the hands of terrorist bombers?"

I'd also count the 11 Scots who died on the ground in the Lockerbie disaster.

C Lofters, New York, New York

David Goodale: How right you are. together we fought 2 REAL wars where the enemy did have this capability and this didn't change our way of life. The biggest threat here is governments changing our way of life with the promise 'we'll make you safe' knowing full well that they can't.

John, Reading, UK

Darren -

Muslim terrorists? 52. So far.

M. Fernandez, San Francisco,

Re: "Excuse me, but how many people died in Britain at the hands of terrorist bombers?"

Darren, Vancouver, Canada

Plenty of bombs exploded / bullets fired and plenty of lives lost in the Ulster part of the U.K. (n.b. NOT 'Britain') for decades now, Darren. Or does that not count?

Barry Lees, Greenock, Scotland

Most rational Americans are beginning to take this view, some what.

These NGO terrorist groups do not have the power to march into our capitols and change our way of life. Instead, they must frighten us into changing our way of life ourselves.

David Goodale, Granada Hills, USA

Here we are 6 years down the line and the uk government has finally realised that using the phrase war ON terror requires you to accept contrary opinions and beliefs at the same time. In other words doublethink. Well I sigh with relief to the fact that they have actually admitted it.

steven, leeds,

Excuse me, but how many people died in Britain at the hands of terrorist bombers?

Darren, Vancouver, Canada

U.S.; U.K.; Spain, Morocco; Algeria;India; Bali; Turkey, etc. all places that have been attacked since 9-11. We can add the USS Cole, bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Africa, first World Trade Center attack if you go back to when war was declared by Bin Laden. Looks global and looks like terrorism. Go stick your heads in the sand!!

Chuck, Gahanna, Ohio, USA

Put your heads a little deeper in the sand and you won't have to call it anything.

Bob Hall, New York, United States