In the last message of Shaykh Anwar al-Awlaki to the American people before his assassination (may Allah have mercy on him, and accept him as a martyr) , he gave an accurate assessment of the relationship between foreign policy and the domestic population; and inadvertently exposed the futility of our conventional methods of confrontation:
“your decision-makers; the politicians, the lobbyists, and the major corporations are the ones gaining from your foreign policy and you are the ones paying the price for it.”
If we want to be effective, consequences for policies can only be imposed upon those who are gaining from the polices. If the costs continue to be paid by those who have nothing to do with it, what possible incentive is there for policymakers to change direction?