As usual, Lex says it all far better than I can today:
The point is that it seems we cannot any longer count on Europe. Europe is accommodating again, appeasing again. When the USSR was the threat, they needed us now they fear being associated with us. Our interests are no longer aligned.
Perhaps the Spanish will wake up with buyers remorse. Perhaps the EU will take stern talk (always cheap in Brussels) and turn it into stout action. We will see.
The point is that these jihadis have a serious plan, and theyre deadly serious about executing it. We may think they are ridiculous, but they clearly do not see themselves that way. Theyre willing to do whatever it takes in the name of their desired end state. They are professionals, these terrorists, and I do not mean that to convey even a grudging nod of respect. I mean it to say, They are not part-timers – this is their job, this is what they do. They have won a victory, whose scale and importance is not yet clear, but one that will nevertheless increase their morale.
The point is that we may have to fight alone, and shoulder the entire burden. Because if we are not ready to:
The point is that we (the West, collectively) could lose. And the sooner we realize that, the more serious we will become, and the more certain our chances for victory will be.
We are not Spain, may God shelter them from further harm, and heal their wounds.
Because when the terrorists hit America on 9/11, exactly 911 days before 3/11, we mourned our dead for a suitable time.
And then we went to war.