Islamic extremists represent a gross American misreading of what is
happening in the Muslim world. The use of the word, "Islamic", is
now classed by many Muslims with the epithet, "nigger", in American
history. By using such terms, the President of the United States
simply talks down to all peoples of the Muslim world.
The virtual total failure of the War on Terrorism comes down to two
vital weaknesses. One is that the very structure of the campaign as
a "War" simply by-passes any focus on the real causes of and
solutions to terrorism and insurgency. The notion that all
disagreements with others can be resolved by force--the central
model of Israeli policy now borrowed by the US--simply ignores the
core realities of the human condition. Poverty, hunger, social and
political exclusion of many groups, actual repression and denial of
political participation will not go away because you kill some of
the people who complain or fight back. Resistance simply will grow.
The second and likely most costly weakness of the War on Terrorism
is the US focus, as exemplified by Presidential speeches, on
so-called Islamic radicalism or the cant phrase "Islamo fascism."
The wars in Iraq and in Afghanistan are--along with US-facilitated
and supported Israeli destruction of Lebanon and Palestine--driving
the people of the Muslim world progressively away from the United
States.
