The air has been sucked out of the room. The French murder spree is dominating everything.

I don’t know who decides what’s important and what isn’t, but the world leaders and most media are all riled up and emotional and appear to have thrown caution to the wind.

Why this incident and this time for such extraordinary outrage? Any ideas?

We’ve had similar and worse incidents for 20-plus years. The bad guys are the same, just some new names. Their warfare methods are basically the same. Their beliefs and purposes have remained constant. Their opposition is mainly one of indifference. What’s so markedly different this time?

Boko Haram, the West African subsidiary of ISIS, has murdered in excess of 3,000 people per year for six years, so it’s not body count. Israel had over 600 attacks in October, so it’s not attack frequency.

The U.S. has helped arm and finance the terrorists by leaving behind large caches of armaments and cash inadequately protected, so it’s not weapons or finances. Outside assistance is unrestrained, so it’s not isolation. So what is it?

Have the terrorists reached critical mass and become a threat worldwide? Has the world’s population ceased accepting their leaders’ ineffectiveness and now realize things are worse, not better?

Is it not knowing our enemy and how to defeat him? Could it be the public discussion of chemical weapons and nuclear bombs as possible future weapons? Is the enemy smarter and more committed? Have politics been dictating results?

French journalist Octave Mirbeau wrote: “The greatest danger of a terrorists’ bomb is the explosion of stupidity it provokes.”

Does this fit what’s happening in today’s terrorist war? We have the means, technology and skills to end this. But do we have the will? Is it too late?