We only call it a war on terrorism, but its actually a war against Jihadism, which can actually be defeated through the proper political, social, and military initiatives.
If you wanna call it a war against "Jihadism" you could almost call it a war against heresy...
There are two forms of "Jihad"... the most importent one is an internal struggle with yourself to achieve great things etc... while the lesser Jihad is a mission to convert unbelievers to the ways of God.
Christians and Jews ("The Peoples of the Book") are supposed to be exempt from this.
So Bin Laden is a heretic: not only does he ignore the peaceful and positive message of the greater Jihad (I forget the correct word) but he mis-interprets the lesser Jihad to a horrifying extent