The Politics of Terror...

The politics of terror, that is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo."

Looks to me like this terror incident in London today was done by amateurs, but nevertheless, it is getting worldwide attention. At this point, nobody was hurt. Police say four low-level bombs were involved, but that's still being defined. There was only minor damage.

Now let's go to the big picture. It is becoming very clear that everybody on this planet is going to have to make a decision about terrorism, but there really are only three options. You can take a hard line, which is my position. You can appease terrorism, which is Spain's position. Or you can refuse to confront the issue at all. And unfortunately, millions of people are doing that.

"Talking Points" will once again state that if every decent person in the world would join together against terrorism, it would be defeated quickly, but obviously that's not happening.

Now here in the USA, we have people who have made a huge deal out of Guantanamo Bay (search), Abu Ghraib, the run up to the Iraq War, and other issues surrounding the terror war.

In my opinion, some have lost sight of the real issue, because of the politics. With all due respect to the left wing in this country, when Islamic fascists are slaughtering civilians, I'm not sure the abuse at Abu Ghraib (search) should be our main concern.

All Americans should realize that mistakes are going to be made fighting a global war on terror, but we should also realize that if we don't aggressively fight it, more Americans will die in the streets.

Now on tonight's "Factor", you will once again hear people blaming Tony Blair (search) and President Bush for terrorists. You'll also see that the BBC (search), the CBC (search), and other news organizations around the world simply will not call the threat what it is.

So why is this happening? The answer again is politics. These people despise Bush and Blair. And the terrorists take a back seat to that.

The dissenters are right, however, when they say that the war in Iraq has helped the terrorists. It has by creating division. That's just what bin Laden (search) wants.

In the long run, however, terrorism could be dealt a severe blow if Iraq becomes an effective Democratic country. Obviously, the terrorists fear that. And more obviously, the free world should be helping Iraq, not quibbling over it.

Comes a time when you have to decide what's best for everyone. And there's no question that what is best for everyone in the world right now is to defeat Islamic fascism. You've got to stop the nonsense. And that's “The Memo.”

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

On Monday, we said that New York state assembly leader Sheldon Silver is the worst elected official in the USA. That's because he has consistently blocked any kind of increased penalties for violent child sex offenders.

Now Silver is afraid to talk to us but he told The New York Sun newspaper that "The Factor," quote, "does not deal with reality," end quote.

However, a spokesman for the Republican minority in the New York state assembly agreed with our assessment of Silver's soft stance on child sexual offenders. He said, quote, "Assembly Democrats are the lone obstacle in keeping these new tough initiatives from becoming law in New York State."

—You can watch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the FOX News Channel. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com