Who does this guy think he is?!

[Enigma]

In ways of defeatism indeed.

America - together with its allies - destroyed Nazi-Germany in Western Europe and Imperial Japan in Asia and the Pacific. Don't tell me they can't deal with a bunch of ragheads in the desert. It is only because of the "international pressure" - rather bickering - of "Allies" who are not willing to commit effective force to the fight because they taught "World Peace" to their people for decades. They could afford to do that because the US took care of the Soviet threat for all those decades, while being lectured they would threaten this "World Peace" by a bunch of moronic hippies in Europe and the US itself.
Now, these days the Western mindset is dominated by them, and the recent US election made the last bastion of determined and effective resistance disappear.

The Taliban / Islamic extremists cannot ever dream of winning their jihad against the West by military means. In a sound world, they would be crushed and destroyed, totally. But while the enemy stands no chance against the military might of the West, their only hope is to engage the West through terrorist acts and propaganda, it hopes to win on the battlefield of Western policy against weak minds and defeatists.

And now the President of the US considers to negotiate with them. One of the greatest world powers in human history, being embedded in one of the strongest military alliances ever, NATO, cannot deal with the ragheads and wants to talk with them. Give me a break.

The demise of the Roman Empire against a bunch of barbarians came about mostly from slow but steady decay from within. The same can happen to the great free societies of the West. Never before has there been such a grand alliance of free people as today. We don't have to and should not give in to a bunch of 5th century radicals.

Every comparison you made per the enemy was an organized, uniformed military backed by a state or government. Terrorists are not. It's a big difference. No hill to take, no government to topple, etc, etc. A war on terrorism, while in good intention, is like a war on jealousy. You can't stamp it out completely, especially using the military to do so.
You also clearly didn't read the article, either. And, the same question applies to you: Do you suppose that Secretary Gates, Gen. Petreus, and President Obama are all weak minded defeatists?