Of all the things to get riled up about...

Babble on.

If I don't agree with Paul Wells, I can normally at least see where he's coming from. Today is the exception that proves the rule.

Two French journalists are in peril of their lives at the hands of thugs in Iraq. Ah-ha, says the Globe's man: a chance to teach the surrender monkeys some hard truths about life in the modern world. "France has been astonished to learn that it is in the same position as so many others," the editorialist writes.

It is always a bit pathetic when people who discovered terrorism on Sept. 11, 2001 think they're ahead of everyone else. Memo to the Globe: Islamic fundamentalists have been perpetrating murderous attacks against French citizens and on French soil for decades. France has resisted through a far more sophisticated and, in some cases, brutal use of its police, intelligence services, courts and legislatures than anything the Globe and Mail would have tolerated on Sept. 10.

True, all of it. Especially the part about September 10th squeamishness regarding French 'special ops' against North African targets.

But what's Wells' point? I mean, with all their experience fighting Islamoterror, you'd have thought the French would have expected their position on Iraq would score them absolutely zero points with the fanatic Islamic kidnapping-thug set. And yet, beyond the Globe, we have the BBC and Reuters reporting surprise in France over this incident. Certainly the average Frenchman isn't alone in trying to connect his country's foreign policies with the kidnapping: Hamas and Arafat have also requested the journalists' release due to French support for the Palestinian cause, and their "positive stand" on Iraq (hat tip to Belmont Club).

Just because the Globe and Post are being intolerably sanctimonious about France's misfortune doesn't mean the French weren't deluding themselves to think their support for Hussein and Arafat made them bulletproof in the region.

Oh, and one more thing: most of us prefer the term appeasemonkey, Paul. Surrender monkey is so yesterday.

Babble off.