In hindsight, the '90s were the apogee of terrorist mainstreaming, with Yasser and Gerry given greater access to the White House than your average prime minister of a friendly middle-rank power. And in return for what? Nothing other than the corrosive impact on weak-willed Westerners desperate to believe that all terrorists can somehow be accommodated if you just roll out the red carpet for them. Witness Robert McNamara, the Kennedy/Johnson defense secretary who popped up last week with a particularly fatuous observation even by his own standards: As Associated Press reported, ''McNamara added that the threat of terrorists using a nuclear device could be reduced if the United States in particular tried to understand terrorists' anger and motivations.''
A Steyn ping.
When Steyn mentions the average PM of a friendly middle power, he's talking about Canada. I believe Steyn is Canadian by birth too, and he's unsurprisingly reviled by many up here. I must say that our last couple of Prime Ministers have earned zero hospitality in Washington, though.