I remember when I was a little kid sometimes another kid would hit me. I'd hit him back, and then he would hit me back again in retribution, and so I would have to hit back to make it even, and he'd hit back again. The Iraqis that beheaded Nick Berg on video remind me of the other kid. Despite the fact that the Abu Gharib atrocities were not really American payback for anything, one could say the Iraqis involved are like the other kid, always feeling like being even means you discount the first hit.

To those who feel that all the Jihadists want is for America to stay out of the Middle East, and then terrorism will stop, and that Islam is a religion of peace and the root cause of the terrorism is Western opression, I ask you to take your head out fo the sand and read some history. Ever heard of the Moors or the Saracens? Ever heard about the devestation and death that occured when Islam tried to take over Europe in the middle ages and very nearly suceeded? Spain and Portugal were Muslim states for many years, and the rest of Europe would have fallen as well, if they had not eventually been able to defeat the invaders. Islam is Islam is Islam. Not all Muslims, in fact only a small percentage, are bad people, but there are enough in the world openly talking of Jihad that if we don't pay attention to them and do something beyond a lot of empty rhetoric, that we will be living in Muslim states eventually, unless we're dead first. If some concrete is not done soon to nip this in the bud, it will become "Us Against Them," and that's going to cause a lot more death than any war in history. I know I prefer us, and Ted Kennedy and John Kerry seem to prefer them.

Just so you know, I don't think all Muslims are evil. But historically that religion has caused a lot of death. I don't think Christianity is evil, either, but between the Crusades, forced conversions, and witch hunts, there have a been a lot of dead people in the name of Jesus over the years. Don't forget a Catholicism that creates a perfect environment for pedophelia. In fact the celibacy requirement of Catholocism practically invites pedophelia. What would Jesus and Mohammed think of what their followers ahve doen in their names? Abraham? Buddha?

Oh yeah. Remember when Bush got on the air and apologized for the Abu Gharib atrocities? Well all the people that demanded he apologize should start holding their breath, waiting for someone who was responsible for the beheading of Nick Berg to apologize. Once all the breath-holders have died from lack of air, the rest of us can get on with defending our people against people who want us dead.