Along this topic, Andrew Sullivan writes...

Sane piece by David Ignatius today in the Post, reiterating many of the arguments made in this space, by Tom Friedman, and others. Ignatius is right that Europeans simply don't get the depth of the change in the American psyche since September 11. They can be forgiven for that. Some Americans haven't absorbed it either. He's also right that Americans too easily forget that Europe itself has had much experience with terrorism. I grew up in a country where half the cabinet had to be dug out of rubble in a hotel explosion in Brighton. It doesn't help America's case now that some Americans actually financed this war on a fellow democracy for years. Even today, you can't find a single trash-can on a London street - they're too easy to plant bombs in. At the same time, the simple truth is that no terrorist event in the history of Europe's recent past can be compared to 9/11. The difference is simply one of scale and ambition. If a similar event had occurred in London or Paris, they would be singing a different tune today - and desperate for America's help. So I have limited patience with their quibbles. They actually have nothing comparable to talk about, and their success in appeasing terrorists is the best argument yet for Bush's zero-tolerance policy. the Europeans should also be smart enough to realize that they could be next. This is not time to start whining about American global power. If it weren't for American global power, al Qaeda would be busy destroying key European cities as we speak.

-p (http://www.andrewsullivan.com/)