Well, you mustn't forget that the terrorist types 'tried' President Reagan, too - remember Beirut?
President Reagan's response, IIRC, was swift and sure, and he wasn't too worried about what other countries thought of it.
President Reagan is my favorite president of my lifetime, so far anyway ;-), but we mustn't pretend that he was perfect, or that everything was 100% wonderful during those 8 years.
Integrity and character do matter. PresBush, like PresReagan has both in abundance.