“The stories about the video of US troops burning the bodies of dead Taliban are disgusting – but not because of anything our troops may have done to the corpses of fanatical murderers. What’s disturbing is the groveling reaction of our government and military officials, who are falling all over themselves to apologize to people who cheer every time an American is killed….

“I know all the rationales for the apologies and investigations and anxious assertions of how much we respect Islam. We need to win the ‘hearts and minds’ of all those alleged ‘moderate’ Muslims who hate us only because they don’t understand us, don’t realize how much we admire their wonderful religion…. The millions of Muslims who support jihadist murder do so not because they’re ignorant of our beneficent intentions and enlightened tolerance, but because of spiritual beliefs that validate jihad, beliefs ratified by 14 centuries of Islamic jurisprudence and theology.”

Bruce Thornton at VDH’s Private Papers, 26 October 2005