Not a Clash of Civilizations
Richard Clarke, in this excellent opionion piece in the New York Times states the obvious. Will anyone listen? Does anyone really care? When will Bush stop working for bin Laden and begin working for world peace?
Once we recognize that the struggle within Islam — not a "clash of civilizations" between East and West — is the phenomenon with which we must grapple, we can begin to develop a strategy and tactics for doing so. It is a battle not only of bombs and bullets, but chiefly of ideas. It is a war that we are losing, as more and more of the Islamic world develops antipathy toward the United States and some even develop a respect for the jihadist movement.
