Blair: Our Determination

It is important that those engaged in terrorism realise that our determination to defend our values and our way of life is greater than their determination to cause death and destruction to innocent people in a desire to impose extremism on the world. Whatever they do, it is our determination that they will never succeed in destroying what we hold dear in this country and in other civilised nations throughout the world.

This is Blair's claim, and it is good. It needs to be said over and over again. But the question, for a good part of the West, as Bill Bennett says, is still an open question. How many of the left would echo Blair's determination?

UPDATE: Hugh Hewitt got an email (regarding the bombing in London, the loss of the SEALS and Stockdale and Al Franken's interview of Tom Oliphant) from a Navy officer today unwittingly answering Bennett's question:

We at USNA are suffering this week as we lost not only two former alumni in Afghanistan, but we also lost a paragon of honor and bravery in VADM James Stockdale. But let me be very clear about today's events in Great Britain. The human refuse who committed these heinous acts are desperate and those of us who wear our country's uniform are MORE DETERMINED THAN EVER to put an end to their reign of terror. Unless America decides to lose its mind and allow the left and its buffoons like Oliphant and Franken to run the show, we WILL PREVAIL. Oliphant strikes no fear in anyone . Navy SEALS and ARMY SOF and Marine Force Recon scare the living heck out of Bin Laden. I will put my hat with them as well as all of the future officers we are producing at USNA, USMA and USAFA and let Oliphant and his ilk defend themselves. We are going to hunt the terrorists down and we will kill them, one at a time if necessary. Sleep well Mr. Oliphant, braver men than you are on the job!"