A burning mailbox . . .

Evidently, I'm not the only one who thinks that the current whoop-de-do over cartoons depicting Mohammed might be more than meets the eye.

It would be easy to dismiss the whole thing as just more of the same old same old from the seething Muslims.

But images of Mohammed aren't new, and it isn't even a sure thing that Islam forbids such images. Take a look; there's bunches of them that never before required the burning of any embassies.

Why now?

I figure it's a diversion. They only want a little more time for whatever real mischief they are planning, but they need a distraction so they can catch us while we are not looking. Based on the history of the last twenty years, burning embassies and cars won't provoke anything like a decisive response on our part. But it will occupy our leaders while they ponder what -- if anything -- we should do. And it will increase the fright among those among us who will always suggest that timidity is a rational diplomatic posture, and who will always argue for a measured response to any provocation. Debate in the U.N. sounds about right.

Yeah, I figure the heat over the cartoonish insult is a diversion. If we go for the burning mailbox on the curb, they plan to storm into the kitchen through the back door.