Thanks to @scooplarue at Conservative Exile for this story, which as I re-tweeted earlier today illuminates something that is vitally important for us to understand and internalize:

The Jihadists who harbor virulent hatred of the United States will continue to hate us so long as we exist, regardless of who we elect to the presidency.

Images of President-Elect Barack Obama — who has not yet taken office, and who ran for election on a platform as lacking in hostility to the interests of the Islamic world as I can imagine — are already being burned in Tehran.

See the article for the Reuters photo, and this brilliantly apropos observation:

I remember a great quote from a conservative thinker to leftist groups in the United States about the issue of Muslim rage:

“The reasons they hate your country have nothing to do with the reasons you hate your country.”

We need to understand this loud and clear, folks, or we are sunk. Despite what many continue to contend (owing to no small amount of projection, I’m sure), radical Islamists are not merely at war with the persona and policies of George W. Bush. Their fight is against the very existence and cultural values of Western Civilization, and no matter who we elect or how we modify our behavior short of completely abandoning this project in Liberty, they will not relent until the West is either destroyed or brought into Dar al-Islam, the House of Submission.

If you harbor any doubt about this, I highly recommend a perusal of JihadWatch.org, where Robert Spencer has over the years done a tremendous job of illuminating the motives and objectives of Jihadist radicals, which are very often clearly stated in their own words. (For another excellent site, see TheReligionOfPeace.com.)

My dear country, I implore you: Please wake up!

UPDATE 1/13: More pictures at the E3 Gazette.