(June 9, 2015 at 1:54 pm)TheMessiah Wrote: While I agree foreign policy had led to this, so has the ideology behind this: Islam.
Most victims of Islamic terrorism are Muslims themselves. Even if the West wasn't involved, there'd still be chaos --- the current war with all these terrorist groups is a war over Islam.
Whichever group wins will be the most dominant force of Islam in the Middle-East.
Islam is surely a factor in the region, but my point was that no matter how fervent an opposition to extremism is, it will never be effective without a deep understanding of the culture around it. You will never defeat terrorism if you can't reach the locals, and since they are all Muslims, the "down with Islam" approach is counterproductive
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
