The war on terror has gone on for almost two decades with no end in sight.
The American public was warned in the beginning this was going to be a long drawn out process.
However, we have fought two wars and have conducted drone strikes in sovereign states.
We have also discovered that the NSA has violated privacy repeatedly since its inception.
There has to be a way to bring closure to a terrorist problem and there happens to be one right below the grass line.
Stop Talking Tough and Be Tough American decision-makers have always hoped that through negotiation and reason all of this could come to an end.
That probably is never going to happen.
Terrorists are committed to a particular anti-American agenda and it doesn't make sense to negotiate with those who want to slit your throat.
Petrodollars fund terrorism.
A number of Saudi charities supported by wealthy Saudi citizens are conduits of cash to a number of terrorist organizations that sponsor anti-American activity.
The same is true throughout the Gulf, and the oil revenues suggest that this financial assistance is long-term.
Yet as a UNESCO report suggests, oil riches are a double-edged sword.
The easy money that came from oil revenues has created a situation where there is not as much activity in science and technology-based development.
The oil countries are dependent on a single commodity and disruptions in the price of petroleum can cause serious economic and employment problems.
Here is where the United States has the terrorist funders by the collar.
The economy of the United States of America is not based on a single commodity.
Rather, it is a diverse commercial society where if one sector has a bad quarter, another one does extremely well.
Moreover, the estimated US petroleum reserves are 29 billion barrels of crude oil, and that figure is growing thanks to shale oil discoveries.
The American government is in position to play serious hardball.
Old Fashioned Gas War The best way to end global terrorism is to cut off its financial base.
The solution harkens back to the days when gas stations conducted price wars against each other to attract customers.
The scenario would be for the United States through its embassies to contact the leaders of the oil countries.
The message would be quite simple: we know terrorists are getting money from financial backers in your country.
We want it stopped and we expect to see concrete results within the next few months.
If that doesn't happen, we will increase drilling and extraction of oil in the United States.
This will drive down the global commodity price of petroleum.
We can survive lowered oil prices because we have a diverse economy.
We know you can't and we will continue to increase the market supply of oil until the commodity price is low enough to cause serious damage.
This is tough talk backed up by solid figures.
The last thing any of the oil sheikhs wants is an Arab Spring happening in their respective country, and that could happen if economic conditions turn sour.
All that is needed is the American government's willingness to follow through.
Such a commodity war will come at a policy price.
Environmentalists have always been worried about increased drilling and fracking.
They believe both pose a serious danger to the ecology.
The response is recent NSA disclosures show the war on terror now is becoming a very serious threat to the individual rights of American citizens.
Unfortunately for environmental activists, personal freedom is more important.
The commodity based counter attack may or may not be a long-term event.
However, it will produce tangible results because the last thing the oil-producing nations of the Middle East want is to have their sole source of revenue suddenly become as cheap as bottled water.