I did not sleep well last night, or the night before. I am haunted by the image of a frightened young girl, no older than my own daughter, who was brutality murdered in front of my eyes.

Thursday evening CNN ran a 45 second video of the "Honor Killing" of 17-year-old Doa Khalil Aswad, for the crime of converting to Islam, in order to marry a Sunni man. I looked up from my dinner at a local Chinese restaurant, to see her bloodied face; she seemed dazed as she looked directly into the camera and cried out in terror. I felt shame and anger for those who stood close by and watched as the girl was kicked, punched and pelted with stones and pieces of concrete. I desperately wanted to protect her from the savage attack, but could only watch helplessly until finally it was over, and she lay motionless, in a pool of blood.

It is said that her own brother and cousins participated in the horrific violence, while police stood by, unwilling to intervene.

My husband looked up from his meal and remarked: "and these are the people we're trying to help?". I have to admit, he's got a point. But, put in perspective, he's right for the wrong reason. In that part of the world, religious beliefs dictate the punishment for infidelity, be it spiritual or physical, and most other crimes. Barbaric as it may seem, this is the reality of Iraq, and many parts of the Middle east. Fanaticism plays no favorites, and when it comes right down to it, blood is not thicker than water.

The persecution of this young girl, is one small example of the extreme religious and cultural differences amongst the peoples of the world. If such unreasonable thinking makes it possible for family members to brutalize and murder their own, is it any wonder that this same type of maniacal behavior is responsible for 9/11, and so many other horrific attacks around the world?

There are those who would have you believe that Westerners (in particular Americans) are hated and despised by the Middle East because of our foreign policy. In fact, their hatred has nothing at all to do with politics, or being in Iraq (although it is a convenient talking point for currying constituency).

If one dares to research the subject, history books site hundreds of years of conflict between Islam and Christianity, one struggling to survive, the other struggling to dominate; both believing they are the one true path to heaven. Eventually, Christianity gained a foothold in Europe and the West, and as a result, radical Islamic leaders scorn the Western World (the U.S.) as an evil temptress to the followers of Islam; we are the infidel, and the mere fact that we exist is the problem. We were the infidel long before we became dependent on oil, long before Mussolini, Stalin, Hitler, or Saddam Hussein rose to power, and we'll be the infidel whether Hilary, Barack or Bush is in the White House. Foreign policy has nothing at all to do with the fanaticism of the terrorists and their supporters, and no amount of making nice with these people is going to make them lay down their swords.

Of course, if you prefer to believe the talking heads who blame American foreign policy, you're just fooling yourself. But then again, believing the libs is much safer on the psyche than believing there's somebody (or a bunch of somebodies) out to get you. It doesn't matter if you're Oprah or O'Reilly, Jessie Jackson, or Mother Theresa, Reverend Al or Rosie O'Donnell, you'd be just as scorn, just as hated, and if they had their way, you'd be dead.

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