Apr 15, 2005
Tom Friedman's Terror Prediction
In the NYT the other day Tom Friedman worried out loud that the terrorists who hate us are going to want to strike us at home now that we appear to be winning in Iraq. Unable to beat us in Iraq, they will be inclined to inflict a humiliating punishment on us to cover their own defeat.
Maybe he's right. Maybe not. It's as plausible a theory as any I've heard. But of course we don't really know what the terrorists are thinking, do we?
Trying to guess what they are thinking is the job of the CIA.
We would do well to focus on something else, I'd suggest. And that is trying to figure out how to drive a wedge between terrorists and the broader Muslim community of the Middle East.
That should be the top priority of the American government in foreign policy.
And the one thing I worry about is this. Is it likely we can achieve this goal as long as we have a largely Christian army in the middle of the largely Muslim Middle East?
Not bloody likely.
Maybe he's right. Maybe not. It's as plausible a theory as any I've heard. But of course we don't really know what the terrorists are thinking, do we?
Trying to guess what they are thinking is the job of the CIA.
We would do well to focus on something else, I'd suggest. And that is trying to figure out how to drive a wedge between terrorists and the broader Muslim community of the Middle East.
That should be the top priority of the American government in foreign policy.
And the one thing I worry about is this. Is it likely we can achieve this goal as long as we have a largely Christian army in the middle of the largely Muslim Middle East?
Not bloody likely.