Critics of the war on terror have repeatedly claimed that if the the United States did not involve itself in the affairs of the Middle East in general, and the Israeli-Palenestinian conflict specifically, then the terrorists would leave us alone. Already, there are voices claiming a link between last weeks bombings in London and the War in Iraq. As this article from Reason’s Ronald Bailey points out, though, the matter is more complicated than that. What we are really dealing with is the same clash between Western civilization and totalitarianism that we faced in the 20th Century, with the exception that this time the totalitarianism has its roots in the 9th Century.
Money quote:
So would terrorist bombs stop going off in Madrid and London if the United States and its allies withdrew their troops from the Middle East entirely? Perhaps there would be a respite, but a showdown between the world’s remaining traditional totalitarianisms and the expanding sphere of liberalism is inevitable
