Today the DOD Joint Chiefs of Staff released the 2006 "National Military Strategic Plan for the War on Terrorism" Anyone who is interested in what our Governments plans or opinions are on these issues should read this document.

You can get it at : http://www.defenselink.mil/qdr/docs/2005-01-25-Strategic-Plan.pdf

Here is an excerpt on how they describe the "Enemy".:

The enemy is a transnational movement of extremist organizations, networks, and individuals -- and their state and non-state supporters -- which have in common that they exploit Islam and use terrorism for ideological ends. The Al Qa’ida Associated Movement (AQAM), comprised of al Qa’ida and affiliated extremists, is the most dangerous present manifestation of such extremism. Certain other violent extremist groups also pose a serious and continuing threat.

There is a direct relationship between the enemies’ motivations and the willingness to use terror tactics. The enemies of the United States and its partners are motivated by extremist ideologies antagonistic to freedom, tolerance, and moderation. These ideologies have given rise to an enemy network of extremist organizations and their state sponsors and non-state  supporters.

Extremists use terrorism -- the purposeful targeting of ordinary people -- to produce fear to coerce or intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of political, religious, or ideological goals. Extremists use terrorism to impede and undermine political progress, economic prosperity, the security and stability of the international state system, and the future of civil society.

All enemy networks rely on certain key functions, processes, and resources to be able to operate and survive. These three elements are an important basis for counter-network strategies and can be defined as follows:• Function (Critical Capability): A specific occupation, role, or purpose.• Process: A series of actions or operations (i.e., the interaction of resources) over time that bring about an end or results (i.e., a function).• Resource (Critical Requirement): A person, organization, place, or thing (physical and non-physical) and its attributes. In network vernacular, a resource may also be referred to as a “node” and the interaction or relationship between nodes described as “linkage.”

Specific functions, processes, and resources vary from group to group, network to network, and even from time to time. This demands an agile and adaptive approach to deny terrorists those critical elements that allow operation and survival of the network. A common lexicon and analytic framework is therefore essential to identify and describe these elements within the enemy’s complex and ever-shifting network of networks. Such an approach facilitates ease, simplicity, and broad applicability at the strategic level within DoD and among the interagency and partner nations. As a strategic start-point, the terrorist network of networks is organized by NMSP-WOT into nine basic components for the further detailed study of its critical elements of operation and survival:

• Leadership

• Safe Havens

• Finance

• Communications

• Movement

• Intelligence

• Weapons

• Personnel

• Ideology

This categorization serves as a common lexicon for orienting and coordinating efforts against enemy networks.

Ends. The national strategic aims are to defeat violent extremism as a threat to our way of life as a free and open society; and create a global environment inhospitable to violent extremists and all who support them.

Ways. The U.S. Government strategy for GWOT is to continue to lead an international effort to deny violent extremist networks the components they need to operate and survive. Once we deny them what they need to survive, we will have won. In the mean time, we must deny them what they need to operate. This strategy has three elements and relies on three critical crosscutting enablers.

The key elements of the U.S. government GWOT strategy are: protect and defend the homeland; attack terrorists and their capacity to operate effectively at home and abroad; and support mainstream Muslim efforts to reject violent extremism. The three crosscutting enablers are:expanding foreign partnerships and partnership capacity; strengthening capacity to prevent terrorist acquisition and use of WMD; and institutionalizing domestically and internationally the strategy against violent extremists.

Means. Success in this war will rely heavily on the close cooperation among U.S. Government agencies and partner nations to integrate all instruments of U.S. and partner national power -- diplomatic, information, military, economic, financial, intelligence, and law enforcement (DIMEFIL). The clandestine nature of terrorist organizations, their support by some populations and governments, and the trend toward decentralized control and integration into diverse communities worldwide complicate the employment of military power.

The rest is also very good reading. I highly suggest you read the whole thing to get a really good idea of the stance of the US Government on many issues that are very current and in the eye of the public.