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The line here is "respect." Everybody's busy professing their "respect": We all "respect" Islam; presidents and prime ministers and foreign ministers, lapsing so routinely into the deep-respect-for-the-religion-of-peace routine they forget that cumulatively it begins to sound less like "Let's roll!" and too often like "Let's roll over!"
Jack Straw, the British foreign secretary, gave a typical Western government official's speech the other day explaining that "a large number of Muslims in this country were -- understandably -- upset by those cartoons being reprinted across Europe and at their deeply held beliefs being insulted. They expressed their hurt and outrage but did so in a way which epitomized the learned, peaceful religion of Islam."

I'm reminded of this old saw:
"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' while trying to find a large rock."

Unfortunately, I'm not sure that our pols are bothering to look.

I'm reminded of this old saw: "Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' while trying to find a large rock."
Unfortunately, I'm not sure that our pols are bothering to look.
Well, I think that the problem is that they are looking for "Iraq", not "a rock".
And the problem extends into Iran, Pakistan, Wahabbi-type Sauds, etc. ;-)

Cheers!

Jack Straw, the British foreign secretary, gave a typical Western government official's speech the other day explaining that "a large number of Muslims in this country were -- understandably -- upset by those cartoons being reprinted across Europe and at their deeply held beliefs being insulted. They expressed their hurt and outrage but did so in a way which epitomized the learned, peaceful religion of Islam."

Here, Mark Steyn demonstrates that he does not understand understated British humor. This is a stinging rebuke to Islam.

"The learned, peaceful religion of Islam"? And that would be the guys marching through London with placards reading "BEHEAD THE ENEMIES OF ISLAM" and "FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IS WESTERN TERRORISM" and promising to rain down a new Holocaust on Europe? This is geopolitics as the Aretha Franklin Doctrine: The more the world professes its R-E-S-P-E-C-T, the more the Islamists sock it to us.

And here, Mark Steyn demonstrates that he has a truly embarrassing lack of understanding of Aretha Franklin...

I love ya' Mark, if you're out there. You're still tops in my book!