John McCain on the Muslim Extremists

I read today John McCain's web page. A couple sections stand out.

It said:

"He recognizes the dangers posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, violent Islamist extremists and their terrorist tactics, and the ever present threat of regional conflict that can spill into broader wars that endanger allies and destabilize areas of the world vital to American security. He knows that to protect our homeland, our interests, and our values - and to keep the peace - America must have the best manned, best equipped, and best supported military in the world."
(http://www.johnmccain.com/Undecided/WhyMcCain.htm)

Why is the answer always the military? Why is it that whenever we see a threatening situation arise we all panic and decide to give the president unfettered power to flood our military with money. Are there alternatives to killing people we disagree with and/or don't understand?

Proposition: Fund (try) diplomacy. Perhaps if we spent 600 billion dollars on hiring international diplomats, linguists, and negotiators we could work something out without shouting (in words that rarely cross the language gap) and shooting and bombing. Do we even know, as a community, why they have attacked our embassies, our battleships, and our World Trade Centers? do we make the effort to listen to their justifications? Or are we content to believe that they are simple-minded, ignorant barbarians that hate us because we have white picket fences, apple pie, and American Idol?

Compare to The stated foreign policy goals of another presidential hopeful, Barack Obama:

"The United States is trapped by the Bush-Cheney approach to diplomacy that refuses to talk to leaders we don't like. Not talking doesn't make us look tough – it makes us look arrogant, it denies us opportunities to make progress, and it makes it harder for America to rally international support for our leadership. On challenges ranging from terrorism to disease, nuclear weapons to climate change, we cannot make progress unless we can draw on strong international support...
"Obama is willing to meet with the leaders of all nations, friend and foe. He will do the careful preparation necessary, but will signal that America is ready to come to the table, and that he is willing to lead. And if America is willing to come to the table, the world will be more willing to rally behind American leadership to deal with challenges like terrorism, and Iran and North Korea's nuclear programs."
(http://www.barackobama.com/issues/foreignpolicy/#diplomacy)