There never has been a Christian state. Ever. Let me attempt to illustrate my thinking on this matter. You can take it metaphorically or literally, the gist is the same. I'll keep it brief.
1) One of the major tenets of true Christianity is "Peace on Earth, good will toward men".
2) When Jesus Christ was approached on a road by a Pharisee, he was asked the trick question about the legality of paying the Roman tax. His famous answer was to give unto Caesar that which is Caesar's and unto God that which is God's.
3) Just prior to His crucifixion, Jesus went into the desert to fast and pray. He was approached by Satan and offered all the kingdoms of the Earth for a single act of fealty. Recognizing a "Brooklyn Bridge" deal, He turned it down and told Satan to get lost.
4) Now, about three centuries after the death of Christ, those professing to be Christian were essentially offered the same deal and they took it. Christendom was born. They became Caesar and to this day many who claim to be Christian are really trying to be Caesar.

That is why I say Christendom and Christianity are not the same thing. There is no way Jesus Christ would have sanctioned the inquisition. A Caesar, on the other hand, wouldn't have a problem with it if it kept him in power. It would be even easier if he could call himself Christian and get away with it. Compared to the rest of Christendom, the founding fathers of the US were much closer to being true Christians and anti-Ceasar, which is reflected in the government they created. That is why I am of the opinion Western Civilization flourished the closer it got to its Christian root.

"Are you sure that they realize what the US knee-jerk response to this is likely to be? "
It is a good point that Japan made this mistake. Generally honor cultures have this idea of revenge that acts as a primitive criminal justice system. Suppose a criminal can kill someone, steal from him, and go to a distant place where it would be costly to locate him. If it weren't for revenge, he could feel safe knowing the family wouldn't put large time and effort going after the thief with no hope of recovering any of the stolen wealth. But he knows he would feel the need for revenge, a need that would overpower a cost/benefit analysis. So this discourages the criminal from committing the crime. It's a poor substitute for a criminal justice system, but it's what we had before law was invented and in places where rule of law has broken down.

All that is my reason why I think the perpetrators knew there would be a desire for revenge. They either a) want to use the revenge reaction to goad us into some action, b) want to get attention and recognition as a serious enemy and not band of thugs, or c) they're sadistic exhibitionists.

I doubt they hoped to scare people into inaction, but your example of Japan is a powerful example of country with a strong honor culture trying to do just that.

Why just the Middle East? The moon-god grovelers would be happy to murder anyone anywhere on the planet that even thinks what I've written here. A fatwa can be issued at anytime anywhere for the head of anyone.

You are correct, CircuitGuy.

But perhaps you are too rational. Are you sure that they realize what the US knee-jerk response to this is likely to be? (I will point out that the Japanese, a bright folk, did not guess correctly re Pearl Harbor.) I would suggest that one of the factors operating here is that the terrorists do not realize how big the world is.

Let me give you an example: When I was in Basic Training in the AF, I found lots of airmen from the Midwest who really thought that 'most of the world was Christian, used forks, and spoke English'. I had them earnestly tell me this. If people with TV's and newspapers are that insular, then perhaps fanatics in the ME really think that they are tough and that we will be frightened.

Or...you could be entirely correct and they are sadistic exhibitionists.

Jan

"There is a gun behind every blade of grass"
I think we should have some sort of formal well-regulated militia for this reason.

"Decapitation is just an attempt to intimidate your foe so that he will be afraid to cross you. (If I had to fight a group of people, I would try to take out the first one in as spectacular a manner as possible - decapitation does come to mind - then, I might not have to fight any of the others...)

The problem with this strategy is that there is a subset of humanity (genetic drift at work) that reacts with anger rather than submission."

Given the last part, I don't think the goal was intimidation. The militants don't have the military power to fight a major power, but they can commit ghastly crimes to get attention and to goad their enemies into rash actions. My wild guess is this either a) attention getting or b) serial-killer type bad guys using a religious / political cause as a fig leaf.

"When the nations of Christendom move far from their Christian root you get the inquisition, closer to their Christian root you get todays Western Civilization, when the Islamic nations move closer to their root, you get ISIS. "
Isn't the inquisition what we got the last time a major state was Christian? So it seems to me as you move closer to a religion-based state, you get ISIS and the inquisition. When you move toward the state not establishing a religion, you get the US and all the countries with similar govt's that appeared after.

The world is on fire, and Barry is playing golf on Martha's Vineyard.

If I were a guy, yes!

I keep thinking of this military surplus flamethrower I saw on eBay a while back... after all, when you're hot, you're hot. (And in the case of these ISASses, would give them a head start towards their fate in the afterlife...)

Since I'm entering this rather late in the day, I have seen a video through a friend in Israel of the beheading. It was done with an unspeakable arrogance as if performing a noble act, and then placing the head on the dead man's torso. Evil beyond description. I don't care who may think what about these vermin. All I know is that they must be wiped out, and wiped out quickly before they contaminate others any more than they already have. I won't sleep well tonight or maybe to some extent, ever again. There is no horror movie that can even come close to this reality.

I’m past that point. I don’t care anymore. I want Muslims to wake-up and realize that these thugs are their poster-boys. DO SOMETHING!

well we are no longer in the middle ages but we have what some think of as leaders who could care less about what the missing links do. and we the usa will not do a thing about. so much for leadership.

Thanks for that, OA!

You're kidding, aren't you? "...runs around confused in the afterlife wearing a pig's mask."???

Jan, who had thought that she could not be any more aghast at the idiosyncrasies of religion...