Steyne on Centanni and Wiig and the Western Spine

Mark Steyne has an interesting take on the forced conversion to Islam of two Fox journalists. He writes:

If you're a Muslim, the video is anything but meaningless. Not even the dumbest jihadist believes these infidels are suddenly true believers. Rather, it confirms the central truth Osama and the mullahs have been peddling -- that the West is weak, that there's nothing -- no core, no bedrock -- nothing it's not willing to trade.

Of course, Terror inc. also now finds itself without two terror-supporting regimes: Afghanistan and Saddam's Iraq. I think the jihadists may recognize the tendency Steyne identifies and laments, but they must also recognize that there is a strain of Western civilization represented by the crew and passengers of Flight 93 and, dare I say it, President Bush. This is not just a question of dividing everyone up into two groups. Under the right circumstances, I think, any Westerner can regain his spine. That is what the jihadists must avoid at all costs, and I think that is the reason the US has not suffered another major attack. You can't exactly say that the country has been effectively sealed off. (Hat Tip: Power Line)

Tags: Centanni, Wiig, Jihad, Bin Laden, terror