The "War on Terror"

Is the "war on terror" winnable?  What would winning look like?  While these questions are far from easy to answer, I think I'll try and put in my two cents.  Feel free to critique.

For those of you who think that the total elimination of terrorism is possible, I have to say that I think you're mistaken.  For starters, given that these terrorists are non-state actors and thus aren't "confined" by geographical borders, it's quite unlikely that we would be able to locate all of them in order to properly eliminate their threat.  In addition to that, we don't even know how many there are.  One solution (albeit brash) could be strategic carpet bombing of a hotspot where terrorists are thought to be located, but it's also unlikely that that would result in a complete success.  Even if such an act would prove to be somewhat successful, it would also likely trigger more acts of violence towards the US (for the prolonged and aggressive nature of our presence in the region).  It's also reasonable to think that this use of force would result in an increase in the number of terrorists as opposed to a decrease.  Even if some were killed, others would use the bombing as ammunition to recruit new members.  When all is said and done, if eliminating the threat of terrorism through force were easy, it would have already been accomplished. 

While I don't think that the complete elimination of the threat posed by terrorists is possible, I do think that success can be achieved.  However, success will be minimal if our armed forces continue to occupy various locations in the Middle East.  It's probably correct to say that some of the problem is caused by a deep-rooted hatred for the US, but to say that goes for all isn't true.  I'd say many terrorists act in such a manner in order to get the US to change its policies regarding the Middle East.  While I don't necessarily like the idea of "giving in" to these people, I don't think terroristic acts are going to stop until we make some concessions on our own, and that includes removing ourselves from the region.  These people are threatened by our presence and see it as selfish and imperial, given our desperate need for oil, and they'll continue to act violently until we leave.  Sure, attacks may continue even after we're gone, but my guess is that they'll be less in number and not as severe, for many of the terrorists would have gotten what they wanted (a change in US policy).  This view may sound weak in nature or bleak, but until we can find a way to effectively locate and destroy all terrorists, we are wasting our time and resources with our current attempts to seek and destroy.  To me, "winning" against the terrorists is more or less cutting our losses and accepting the draw.