Why abduct us? We cede our values for free

Mark Steyn makes a point eloquently that I have made earlier:

[referring to a story buy Arthur Conan Doyle about a party of Anglo-American-French tourists taken hostage by the Mahdists, the jihadi of the day.]
One hundred ten years later, for the Fox journalists and the Western media who reported their release, what's the big deal? Wear robes, change your name to Khaled, go on camera and drop Allah's name hither and yon: If that's your ticket out, seize it. Everyone'll know it's just a sham.

But that's not how the al-Jazeera audience sees it. If you're a Muslim, the video is anything but meaningless. Not even the dumbest jihadist believes these infidels are suddenly true believers. Rather, it confirms the central truth Osama and the mullahs have been peddling -- that the West is weak, that there's nothing -- no core, no bedrock -- nothing it's not willing to trade.

UPDATE:

From Powerline:Something to die for