• LA TIMES EDITORIAL

ARE THEY WAKING UP TO REALITY?

'From the terrorist's mouth'
March 16, 2007

(EXCERPTED)

"Mohammed's rationalizations for his actions, it goes without saying, are appalling. He compares the mass murder of innocents at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon to the War of Independence waged by George Washington against the British. Similarly bogus apologies have been offered by, and on behalf of, terrorists from Belfast to Beirut. Those who make such arguments believe them, and it's distressing that plenty of people in the Mideast will accept Mohammed's reasoning.

"Whether you call it militant Islam, Islamic fascism or a clash of civilizations, there is a movement that has declared war on the U.S. and the West. It is neither a figment of President Bush's imagination nor a byproduct of the Iraq war. Americans disagree about how to engage that enemy, but its existence is undeniable. So is the willingness of its adherents to kill — and die — for the cause. The passage of time since 9/11 may have dulled our appreciation of that reality, especially as partisan bickering consumes Washington. By confessing — and boasting about — his crimes, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed has sharpened it."