Slate started a new series yesterday by Robert Wright on A Real War on Terrorism, i.e "how to do it right". Wright is the author of Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny, which I feel is the best current book about why the world is how it is. Wright uses as a starting point the concept of a "non zero sum game" from game theory, which is basically any situation where the fates of persons or groups are entwined with each other. I highly recommend it.