Number of Destroyed Schools: 181

"Scores of schools and other government buildings have been blown up over the past two years, in Swat, Bajaur and Mohmand, restive parts of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) as the Taliban seek to impose a radical Islam and challenge the authority of the government." (Read more.)

"Just 160km from Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, the picturesque valley - once famed for its cosmopolitan ski resort and liberal, artistic community - has become a symbol of the Pakistani Government's inability to crack down on a jihadist movement that is threatening to destabilise the country.

"Almost daily, residents in Mingora, the only major town in Swat, find four to five headless bodies on the streets, victims of the Taliban.

"Responsible for the reign of terror is radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah, a Talibani leader known as Radio Mullah for his fiery sermons broadcast nightly via a pirate FM radio frequency.

"Fazlullah stepped up his campaign in Swat after November's Mumbai attacks when Pakistan redeployed troops to the border with India. In just a few months he is said to have increased his area of control from less than a third to more than 80 per cent of the 9000sqkm area.

"In December, he announced all education for girls would cease by January 15 - when private schools were due to reopen - prompting Pakistani newspaper The News to editorialise: "The beautiful valley now enters a time of darkness."

"The number of schools blown up or torched stands at 181, and militants have blown up power grids, bridges, gas lines and hotels.

"Last week, Fazlullah demanded 40 provincial ministers and local government officials appear before a Taliban court to answer charges of causing unrest in the area, or face death." (Read more.)

How can Islam's constant expansion be stopped? The first step is widespread education. Had more people been aware of Islamic supremacist doctrines and the third jihad, there would have been more support for the efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and we would have been more forceful in insisting their governments prevent Shari'a from worming its way into their laws.

We have many decisions to be made, new policies to instigate in the United States and all free countries. We need to change immigration policies, policies to stop madrassas from teaching hatred, policies to stop building mosques and preaching hatred in them, policies to eject Jihadis from government positions, policies about how Islam is taught in schools and who approves those teachings, policies about who is allowed to be a "chaplain" in prisons (many Islamic supremacists have converted prisoners to jihadis — it is a hotspot of new recruits), and of course, policies about military action.

None of these new policies can come about until there is a public will to protect ourselves, and that public will cannot come about until a lot more people are educated. It needs to happen and it needs to happen now. Start here.