[vernarial]

Originally Posted by Drakonix

Do we let terrorists run free, killing with wild abandon (33 deaths per minute for 883 minutes = 29,139 deaths) or challenge the terrorists on their own turf thereby taking losses at a lower rate (1 death as opposed to 29,139 deaths)?

In the same 5 years there haven't been any more terrorist attacks on USA soil. The frequency may be different(I'll concede that) but the overall total for the same 5 years is approximately the same. I highly doubt that the family and loved ones of any of the dead care. The fact that they have lost a loved one is all that matters.
Another point is that the 3 thousand(or 2,793 for you sticklers) that died on Sept. 11 were civilians, not military as you pointed out. If we count up all the dead civilians in Iraq the total will be much higher. Even the families and loved ones of the dead Iraqii civilians probably don't care about frequency of death as much as the death itself.