I'm glad we live in a nation that is not nearly as barbaric as the Muslim countries from which many of these terrorists originate. If captured in France, these terrorists would receive a trial, something like "due process" and legal representation. Would they still commit these crimes if they believed brutal, nasty torture in a dark prison cell awaited them?

As an American lawyer I wanted to say that even though the temptation exists, I'm glad we don't resort to the same barbarism as these backwards thinking people. And even when we do commit acts of torture – e.g., Guantanamo Bay, CIA black sites – our country engages in an open and meaningful debate over the merits of those programs in order to determine whether they are actually helpful and whether those programs conform to our values as citizens. In Muslim countries, there is no "debate." Torture is systematically used, rule of law is exchanged for autocratic/kleptocratic rule and the Dark Ages continue on into the 21st century.

People who suggest an equivalency between "Christian" violence and "Islamic" violence are suggesting a false equivalency. The Christian world (as opposed to the Islamic world) has had to endure centuries of secular scientific and cultural progress, and has therefore learned to tolerate the ridicule of its religious icons, figures and prophets to a much greater degree than the Islamic world has learned to tolerate the ridicule of its own.

If predominantly Muslim countries, such as Egypt, wish to ban depictions of Muhammed in publications within their own country, I think they should have the choice to do so, seeing as it's their prerogative to do so. But what happened today happened in France to journalists and cartoonists working for a French publication. These terrorists have absolutely no authority to impose their will on the people of France, and the fact they believe they do have that authority demonstrates that these people are still living in a 7th century mindset in which conquering territories, raping young women and pillaging defeated peoples is not only the norm, but considered honorable and worthy of admiration.

But despite how disturbing and horrific these events earlier today were, I'm actually glad these terrorists, once captured, will receive a fair trial, legal representation and rights as defendants in a proceeding brought by the people of France. These values are part of what separates Western societies from the barbarism and tyranny of so many Muslim countries, and rational, thinking people understand and see the difference.