Given that many americans only have the attention span of a 30 second commercial,will we have the resolve to stick with a protracted "war" against terrorism?
[soapbox]

Sadly, no.

Unfortunately, I don't think so.

Fast forward to June 2002.
After we lose two more civilian planeloads of people, the 2000th soldier's body bag arrives back in the US, and gas hits $6/gallon, America will have had enough.

It will then be "George Bush's war".  The socialist media will suggest to us that he started the war to divert attention from "his" bad economy.  The media will also give plenty of attention to the college campuses, interviewing protesting students that demand and end to US involvement and imperialism in the Middle East.

We've been there before.

I'm going to BTT this one.

I'd like to hear from others about the ability of Americans to sustain a long-term conflict.

i hope not.  while the death of soldiers only is likely to result in what you've described.  i think that any future attacks will only steel our resolve against whoever is behind this.  but i do agree that the media will have a large part to play in this.