The wrong target :: The Times

The London Times editorializes:

Terrorism, not America, is a real and present threat to our freedoms.
. . .
The strength of disdain is a measure of Europe’s weakness. Smugness is one of Europe’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 society’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 country’s virtues and vices — 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 America’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.

I concur. Open rehearsal of shortcomings is key to the strength of America. Even if it can sometimes be misinterpreted as a sign of weakness, in the end it is essential to the defeat of the enemies of a free and open society. And get this: open rehearsal of shortcomings is alive and well in George Bush's America, and he'd like others around the world to enjoy that kind sort of society.

Welcome news from Canada:

Liberal Leader Bill Graham, meanwhile, said Canada must continue its military role in Afghanistan or risk more terrorist threats at home. Canada's troops are in Afghanistan precisely to bring peace to that country, he said, and ''we hope well succeed in that engagement, which is so important for Canada and the international community.''

''I'm afraid that if we don't succeed, the threats will get bigger. The success of our forces in Afghanistan are more and more important, as shown by what we happened this weekend.''

(These links above via Riehl World Views.)

Further welcome news: U.S. Army Chief of Staff awarded Spanish Grand Cross of Military Merit. (via Instapundit)