Not Just Another "Blame The West" Piece

Reading a passage like this ...

[Author Olivier] Roy emphasizes that the jihadists are the products of globalization, and its enemies. They are detached from any specific country or culture, he says, and take up jihad because it attaches them to something. They are generally not politically active before they take up jihad. They are looking to strike a vague blow against the system and so give their lives (and deaths) shape and meaning.

In short, the Arab world is maintaining its nearly perfect record of absorbing every bad idea coming from the West. Western ideas infuse the radicals who flood into Iraq to blow up Muslims and Americans alike.

... you might think David Brooks' NYT op/ed today is just another bundle of misdirected excuses for Jihad of the "appalling rubbish" sort, but the op/ed raises several interesting points. Among them:

• Jihadists are not repressed Arabs, but the children of wealthier, globalized Arabs. So will democratization work? I think it will, if point number two is used successfully.
• The US should have a goal of separating the nationalists from the jihadists. We are doing this in a way in Afghanistan and Iran, but it's secondary to the democratization goal. Nationalists will squelch jihadists in their midst, limiting their effectiveness.
• And saving the best point for last: "Third, terrorism is an immigration problem. Terrorists are spawned when educated, successful Muslims still have trouble sinking roots into their adopted homelands. Countries that do not encourage assimilation are not only causing themselves trouble, but endangering others around the world as well."