Hi Tequila. I don't have time to expand too much, but I see the current conflict as a conflict of cultures -very- similar to the European West discovery and conquest of the New World. The European agrarianism, technologism and expansive nature was diametrically opposed to the folks who were here at the time.

In the same way, US/Western culture cannot help but to be expansive in nature, and the less wealthy and technologically advanced "Islam" (substitute tribal middle-east if you'd like) cannot bear the onslaught of western culture. As a result of this, they -must- fight us in order to perceive that they have a chance of preserving their way of life.

No way do they preserve their way of life; even if they were able to destroy us, but it's something they gotta do.

To lay the current conflict on US military actions alone is a copout, in my view, and exposes the author's prejudices.

"My" prejudice on the issue is that I want the western world to win. It would be nice if their culture would change peacefully, but I doubt it. It would even be nice if we could build a "cultural wall" that allowed them to continue to be who they are, without changing, but that ain't going to happen.

As much as I don't want it to happen, I see this going pretty much like the 300 year Euro-native american conflict, with several hundred years of alternating accomodation and slaughter, until the tribal culture is rendered irrelevant.