We have not yet begun to fight. Literally.

Last week, Fred Thompson filled in as the host of Paul Harvey's News and Comment. During one broadcast, he commented on the conspiracy theory being floated by political geniuses such as Charlie Sheen and Rosie O'Donnell, claiming that the World Trade Towers were actually brought down by our own government. This, of course, in spite of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's confession of that same week claiming to have played a major role in the planning and execution of the attacks.

Thompson went on to note that many Americans "just don't like to think about how much our enemies actually hate us." This self-delusion is attractive, and alarmingly common. The majority perspective is, I believe, that the Muslims who call America the Great Satan and have vowed to kill as many of us as possible really aren't so bad. In fact, they are just like us in a lot of ways, and if we could just stop being so *American* for a little while and sit down to have a nice chat with them, we would probably be able to reach some sort of peaceful middle ground.

Ideas have consequences, and this idea is a dangerous one. One of the consequences of this logic is an inability to deal with the real and significant threat posed by Islamic extremists in an appropriate way.

Consider the current hostage situation with fifteen Britons being held captive by the Iranian government. John O'Sullivan suggests a "thought experiment" that might shed some light on this situation:

Imagine that the British ten days ago had stopped an Iranian ship in Iranian waters, took its sailors prisoners, paraded them on television offering apologies for their trespassing, and was now demanding an apology from the Iranian government itself for breaking international law….

Condemnations would pour from the United Nations and other international bodies. Britain's allies in Europe and the U.S. would publicly press for the release of the Iranians. Human rights bodies would point out that Britain's actions were in direct violation of the Geneva Convention. And other NGOs would attempt to drag British leaders such as Prime Minister Tony Blair before the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges….

Publicly Iran would shout defiance. It would use all the usual avenues of diplomatic protest to demand the return of its sailors. It might ask its terrorist allies in Iraq and elsewhere to launch bombing attacks on British institutions and personnel. And it would tell its captured sons and daughters through the media that they had been given a heaven-sent opportunity to embrace martyrdom.

Privately it might decide to avoid antagonizing Britain in future — and to antagonize, say, Spain instead. But it would not negotiate, still less compromise, with an adversary so friendless and universally condemned.

Back in reality, Iran has the hostages, the U.N. has essentially ignored the situation, and not a single building, vehicle, or flag, to my knowledge, has been set on fire protesting the great evils committed by the Iranian regime.

O'Sullivan notes that "one of the oddities of the present mood in London is how little anger and indignation there is about the crisis." Their unwillingness to act is embarrassing at best. I am reminded of the mother you see in line at the grocery store with a wayward child. "Billy, put that candy bar back or you're in big trouble. Billy, I'm serious. Put your sister back in the cart before she gets hurt. Billy, really now. Mommy doesn't want you to throw any more magazines at the people in line. Billy…." It seems that Britain is willing to speak softly, but can't remember what comes next.

What more could they do? Newt Gingrich has suggested, "Iran's sole refinery could be attacked. Its ports could be blockaded or mined. Its exports blocked." Any of these actions would send a message to Iran (and other nations in the hands of Islamic extremists) that the West will not be pushed around. Instead, the clear and dangerous message is that a rogue nation can take a group of British sailors hostage without any meaningful consequence.

This nauseating mixture of fear and apathy has made its way into British classrooms, where teachers are afraid to teach their students about the Holocaust or the 11th century Crusades. At first glance, this seems to be nothing more than the P.C. movement gone wild, but the study identified that the reason teachers neglected these subjects was because they were afraid that Muslim students would react violently to anything different than what they are being taught in their mosques.

Don't worry, this madness has made its way into our own school system. On the one year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the National Education Association (NEA) advised teachers¹ to not "suggest any group is responsible" for the attacks, and also to "discuss historical instances of American intolerance." So much for not suggesting any group is responsible.

The NEA not withstanding, school administrators know they can't just bury their collective head in the sand and ignore the threat of terrorism against their students. Many school districts have held terrorism drills in order to be better prepared should such an attack occur. One such district is in Muskegon County, Michigan. Michelle Malkin reports that the district held a drill three years ago that simulated an attack in which wackos detonated a bomb on a school bus, causing it to tip over and fill with smoke. Recently, a district in New Jersey held a similar drill, in which "two irate men armed with handguns… invaded the high school through the front door. They pretended to shoot several students in the hallway and then barricaded themselves in the media center with 10 student hostages."

Both of these scenarios sound plausible, but there's more to the story. In the first scenario, the "wackos" behind the school bus bombing were "a fictitious radical group called Wackos Against Schools and Education who believe everyone should be homeschooled." In the second, the gunmen were described as "members of a right-wing fundamentalist group called the 'New Crusaders' who don't believe in separation of church and state. The mock gunmen went to the school seeking justice because the daughter of one had been expelled for praying before class." Yes, we should all be very concerned about radical homeschoolers with jihad on their minds.

The reason they can get away with this is because "radical" "right-wing" Christians aren't in the habit of blowing things up when they don't get their way. Recently, a hotel in New York City planned a Holy Week display of a nude, anatomically correct, six-foot tall sculpture of Jesus Christ made completely out of chocolate and entitled "My Sweet Lord." A significant number of Christians were offended by this, and they expressed their disapproval thoroughly enough that the hotel has canceled the exhibit. In response, the creative director of the gallery resigned in protest, and the artist describes himself as the victim of "a strong-arming from people who haven't seen the show." I would submit that having your exhibit canceled because it was unpopular with a significant number of people is a much better fate than having a five page note pinned to your chest because a religious group objected to your work. And don't forget the "Danish Cartoon Incident" where Muslim protesters burned three embassies and killed at least 139 people in response to several cartoons published in a Danish newspaper, even though Arab papers publish offensive cartoons about Jews and Christians on a regular basis.

Yet, I wonder why we would expect anything different. The West is too weak (or at least unwilling) to confront Islamofascism at home or abroad, even when hostages are taken and buildings burned. The current hostage situation shows just how ridiculous this apathy is. NRO Online points out that "By committing an act of war, Iran has simultaneously made itself look peaceful and made the West look impotent." Satellite imagery, GPS data, and eyewitness accounts all confirm that the hostages were never in Iranian territory. Yet, Iran is allowed to offer a "gift" to the West and video of the captives shaking hands with the Iranian president and thanking him for his forgiveness have begun to circulate. Another message is circulating as well, that a Muslim state can commit an act of aggression against a Western nation and get away with it. Recent actions by our own Congress serve only to amplify this message.

There was a time when the British and the Americans joined forces to defeat the incredible German war machine. It was costly, it was hard, and it was a lengthy battle. My hope is that this generation can muster the same commitment to dealing with an equally ambitious enemy. Unfortunately, I just don't think we have the backbone as a nation to do it, especially when we can't even face this enemy in schoolyard emergency drills.