An American Secretary of State addressing American Embassy employees spoke of the “legitimacy” of the murderous attack on Charlie Hebdo, before realizing how outrageous that was and correcting himself to speak of a “rationale.” Too late and still awful.  By expressing his understanding of, if not agreement with, the right of Muslims to murder those who violate their Sharia code while freely expressing themselves in the tradition of the West, Kerry has forfeited his ability to act as defender of American interests on the world stage. He should resign or be fired. But of course Barack Obama, who stated on the world stage at the UN that “The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam,” may well agree with Kerry’s sentiments. Kerry’s full remarks can be read here. The problematic part is: There's something different about what happened from Charlie Hebdo, and I think everybody would feel that. There...(Read Full Post)