Assassinations of the olden days

The American Catholic has an interesting post on assassinations that were springing up all around the late 19th century world.  There were many, and of course, many motives for the assassins.  None would have the direct impact on history that Gavrilo Princip's assassination of Archduke Ferdinand accomplished.  But each played it's little part.  Donald McClarey focuses on that rash of assassinations that came as a result of the anarchists who were all the rage, culminating in the death of president McKinley.

I can't help but think of the global war by terrorism.  For war it is, even if we deny it.  And most number crunchers are content assuring us that we have a greater chance of being hit by a lightning bolt than dying at the hands of an Islamic terrorist.  And yet, are we sure that even though we are not directly impacted, we won't be impacted down the road? All of history could be impacted.  In fact, I'd argue that Islamic terrorists have done a fine job changing the course of history.  Since 9/11, Islam has emerged as perhaps the most powerful and influential religion in the world.  The West has ripped itself apart.  And even the Catholic Church has worked to find ways to accommodate this faith that, in the end, seem to have little intention of compromising its own ultimate goals. 

In any event, a good read at the always interesting The American Catholic.