But that time has not yet come. And when it does, the Left will need all the political capital it can muster, something it will find sadly depleted when its anti-American catcalls hit the ears of a nation traumatized by terror and generally united in its support for a limited military response against a terrorist nation.

Right now, more than 5,000 people are presumed dead, a fact barely acknowledged by the protesters in Boston and many others swept up in the anti-war reaction. A foreign state that treats women like slaves is harboring and sponsoring a known terrorist with global connections. The world has a strong, reasonable suspicion that a network of genuinely savage fighters is being sheltered by the mountains of Afghanistan — men who have publically and clearly stated their intentions to kill Americans and Jews, regardless of age, gender or military affiliation.

This may be an opportunity for US military power to oppose tyranny, savagery and oppression. In Kosovo, and Bosnia, and throughout the intense struggle of World War II, US troops fought on the right side.

To the vast majority of Americans, now is another such time.

There are, of course, ways to effectively question the Bush administration's reaction. Protesters who are not afraid to wave the American flag and claim the mantle of patriotism can say that all a quickly executed military strike will bring is more US casualties — that the administration is actually sabotaging US interests by acting with such force and violence in an Islamic part of the world.

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