Islamic terror, not the US is the problem

Times:

Al-Haditha, a town on the Euphrates northwest of Baghdad, is still a place where fighters blend into the populace and literally use civilians as cover. Coalition forces may shoot only when threatened, ground rules that call for exemplary discipline and courage in conditions where their observance increases the risk of injury or death.

...

The strength of disdain is a measure of EuropeÂ?s weakness. Smugness is one of EuropeÂ?s great contemporary exports. We may all think that we know America, its music, its culture, its self-confident exceptionalism. We tend to forget that Americans fight only with extreme reluctance. We overlook their penchant for agonised self-criticism; everything bad we know about the US, we know because Americans inexhaustibly rehearse their societyÂ?s shortcomings. There has never been greater transparency, whether than on the battlefield or the boondocks, and there has never been more open debate about the countryÂ?s virtues and vices Â? the internet has transformed the quantity and, at times, the quality of the conversation.

Better than most, Muslims understand why Islamist terrorism is war at its unholiest, an existential threat to societies. Iraqis may resent occupation, but they fear a weakening of US resolve. Their fears should be ours. Were it to become politically impossible for a president to keep AmericaÂ?s forces engaged from its shores, then the backbone of international security would be broken. America-bashing may be a popular sport, but its adherents prefer not to contemplate its consequences.

The stuff between the ...'s is worth reading too. It is a good sign that some recognizdangerdanber of bashing this country. Hopefully the Democrats will learn that too. They seem to have been struck mute by the jihadis in Canada who defy all their logic on why the US is under attack. Rationalization is sure to follow, though.