Just something I was thinking about while I was catching up with the latest thoughts on terrorism from Norm Geras (congrats on getting into The Guardian!), Australian Prime Minister John Howard and the Christian Science Monitor.

Anyone who believes that terrorism is a justifiable response to religious/political disagreements is really saying that you dear reader, and I, have no right to live.

I have not heard an argument from the radical left that any of the terrorist attacks of the last few years, whether the death toll is three or three thousand, is "a disproportionate response" - a charge they love to trot out against Israel. And if there's nothing wrong with the murder of three thousand innocent civilians to make a point, is there any amount of death or destruction that would be considered "wrong"? And if there is no limit to the amount of punishment that is due to be meted out to Western Society, every single person in it is a legitimate target for radical Muslim grievances. You, me, your parents, your children...we all deserve to die.

If we all deserve to die and the terrorists are willing to die themselves, what they are really saying is that they prefer a world without any of us. Their goal is a world devoid of human life as we know it, a Paradise filled with martyrs and the rest of us in Hell. A Hell on Earth for those unfortunate enough to be ruled by those "imams" who are too cowardly to die themselves.

Those of us that do not speak out or physically challenge the terrorists, but instead rationalize their behavior and look to place the blame on others, are only helping to further their goal of creating a world in which no one deserves to live. The most liberal seem to believe that it is perfectly just that we should lay down our lives for the perceived sins of Western man, hung not on the Romans' Cross but hacked into tiny pieces by the Sword of Islam.

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I keep thinking, what if the most important Hebrew declaration - Shema Yisrael - was used by thousands of terrorists as their joyful cry when murdering innocents? Wouldn't I feel embarassed to say it, even in the privacy of my private interactions with G-d? What does the average Muslim feel when they here "Allah hu Akbar" shouted by the jihadists? What is a non-Muslim supposed to feel when those words are broadcast from minarets in suburban American neighborhoods several times each day? How does it not begin to sound like "Heil Hitler" regardless of the lack of desire to cause discomfort to others?

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Thank you Thomas Friedman. From the NY Times July 22 Op-Ed Page.

We also need to spotlight the "excuse makers," the former State Department spokesman James Rubin said. After every major terrorist incident, the excuse makers come out to tell us why imperialism, Zionism, colonialism or Iraq explains why the terrorists acted. These excuse makers are just one notch less despicable than the terrorists and also deserve to be exposed. When you live in an open society like London, where anyone with a grievance can publish an article, run for office or start a political movement, the notion that blowing up a busload of innocent civilians in response to Iraq is somehow "understandable" is outrageous.