Jihad and roots

[The Great Quail]

Tiarnan writes,

>Al-Qaida, no? Islamic Jihad are a different bunch of American-hating
>anti-capitalist peegs.

Well, from my understanding, the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic Jihad, 
and al-Qaeda are more or less in a phase of "we've joined forces to 
fight the enemy." (I am not sure about Hezbollah; being Shiites.) So 
I am using "Jihad" as a general term to denote the hydra of 
Sunni-based fundamentalist terrorism, of which al-Qaeda is the most 
virulent and well-funded head. I also don't think they hate 
capitalism per se; communism hasn't been all that kind to them either.

Terrence writes,

>Moreover, a "war" on "terrorism" may be effective against weapons of
>mass destruction--the bomb. biological, chemical weapons
>production--but it will not address the issues surrounding Islamic
>fundamentalism.

This is very true. In fact, it will most likely, at least in the 
short run, increase the viral aspect of the movement. However, by 
disrupting their networks, by taking away their ability to produce 
such weapons, by seizing as much of their funding as possible, and by 
-- and this is important -- by making any state that sponsors them 
openly mortally afraid of the consequences; by doing all these 
things, we severely cripple their ability to *act,* which is a very 
important goal.

Addressing the root causes are almost insurmountably difficult, as 
those roots are entwined in centuries of Islamic political thought, 
the sheer shock of modernization, the postcolonial effects of Eurpean 
imperialism, and simple cultural difference. Of course America's 
oil-driven meddling in the region serves as gasoline for the fires, 
and may serve as an excellent place to start addressing the roots of 
the problem. But it will not be easy, it will probably take 
generations, and it will always be complicated by two other factors 
-- the existence of Israel, and the lack of a democratic tradition in 
the area. This is not to say we should not address the causes, but to 
think that our Middle eastern policies are the main fuel for this 
fire is mistaken, and addressing the issues will take a long, long 
time. Until then, we need to cripple their power to act as much as 
possible.

--Quail