It is a sobering view, and an interesting article, but I am left wondering about Steyn's analogy to 8th century Moors and conclusion about government weakness. The geography and the ethnicity are correct, but what else? Did he overlook the racial riots of the late 1960's encompassing major cities in this country from Detroit to Washington D.C. to Los Angeles, or should I claim a conservative media bias? Racial tensions between police and youth would seem to have a direct comparison here or even more recently to the 1992 riots in LA. Had Lyndon Johnson or George H.W. Bush showed some sort of weakness that led to these outbreaks of civil unrest? Would he not have investigated or given any credence to African American grievances for fear of appearing weak and instigating more violence? It almost seems as if he is about to touch on the racial and economic factors and then lets them slip away unanalyzed. Fair enough to use these riots as evidence against the economic stagnation of socialism but to leap to government weakness upon the international stage seems to miss the mark.

Rioting should be a wake up call, but we should answer the right alarm. Now, before you put me in the liberal pacifist column know that I am not advocating we sit down on Oprah's couch with Islamic militants. I do believe force is required to restore order. My personal connection to the two LA riots is quite close. In August 1965 my mother was 10 months pregnant with me and my father was on the east coast to attend his mother's funeral. My uncle, a marine colonel drove up from San Diego in the middle of the night, his service revolver on his belt, to drive my mom and brother safely away. It turns out we were 20 miles away from the closest trouble spots, but it is a memory my mother will never forget. Same for me in 1992. I was a field engineer and covered east LA, Compton, Lynwood, and Southgate. I arrived home that Thursday evening to watch Reginald Denny be beaten on live television and violence spread to blocks where I had been hours earlier that day. Sobering to say the least. Then as now in France the first order of business is to restore order with force. But the job doesn't end there, unless actions are taken to repair the underlying problems all it will take is a small spark to reignite the wildfire.