I am firmly in support of free speech and the right for these cartoons to be published as much as I might disagree with their content or message. It's important to understand that this controversy has been caused by Muslim leaders seeking to rile their followers. The protests and violence had insured that many millions (probably billions) more people have seen these cartoons.
I too am dismayed by our media who have largely shyed away from actually displaying the cartoons. It is situations like this where our freedoms of press and speech are most important.
Perhaps Islam and Western culture are ultimately incompatible. It seems that many muslim nations envy our freedoms and rights but they must understand that they're interconnected and taken as a whole not piecemeal.
It's interesting that this controversy erupted a week after U.S. rightwing extremists, who so often occupy the same ideological ground as middle-east extremists, erupted into furor over a cartoon in
the Washington Post. Although the attack on the freedom of the press was analogous, the fallout was quite a contrast. The rightwing threatened boycotts, which ultimately should prove more successful than violence.
I have respect for Condoleeza Rice for coming out and condemning middle-east leaders who are using this controversy to incite hatred and violence. Aside from her however I've seen our leaders and media exposed as cowards succumbing to violent threats.