Crazier Than Thou

Tom Friedman again cuts to the heart of the matter. The Arabs don't think like Westerners. When we react with measured responses, they see it as weakness. When they lionize bin Laden, we wonder why they hate us.

The fact is that it is ingrained in their culture to respect and trust those who show strength and resolve. Europeans, in contrast, view such people as Hitler as a man they can do business with. "We don't want to judge anyone unfairly," and search for "peace in our time." When this all fails, they shake their heads and wonder why men like Churchill and De Gaulle become heroes instead of Neville Chamberlain.

Most Americans think differently from their academics and intellectuals who pander to European "thought." We are religious and we all know the Sermon on the Mount, but we also resonate to Sean Connery in "The Untouchables" when he says:

"You wanna get Capone? Here's how you get Capone...

He pulls a knife, you pull a gun.

He puts one of yours in the hospital, you put one of his in the morgue.

We know the difference between a slap on the cheek and a punch in the gut.

And so do most Muslims.