Don't give in to fear, for that's just what terrorists want

LIKE millions of people, I've been obsessively following the news from Paris, putting aside other things to focus on the horror. It's the natural human reaction. But let's be clear: it's also the reaction the terrorists want. And that's something not everyone seems to understand.

Take, for example, Jeb Bush's declaration that "this is an organised attempt to destroy Western civilisation". No, it isn't. It's an organised attempt to sow panic, which isn't at all the same thing. And remarks like that, which blur that distinction and make terrorists seem more powerful than they are, just help the jihadis' cause.

Think, for a moment, about what France is and what it represents. It has its problems - what nation doesn't? - but it's a robust democracy with a deep well of popular legitimacy. Its defence budget is small compared with the United States', but it nonetheless retains a powerful military, and has the resources to make that military much stronger if it chooses. (France's economy is around 20 times the size of Syria's.) France is not going to be conquered by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), now or ever. Destroy Western civilisation? Not a chance.