So much of the current American angst with Islam is rooted in Cold War strategies as implemented in those Islamic states seen as critical hedges against Soviet expansion due to their location; those seen as critical suppliers of oil; and those seen as occupying key terrain along critical LOCs. The wild card in this mix was/is our commitment to sustaining Israel as a nation. It has created a witches brew.

We now find ourselves in bed with some of the shadiest dictators and monarchs on the planet; who have come to act with ever increasing impunity under the umbrella of U.S. protection and enriched with foreign aid or petro dollars. At the same time we find ourselves at odds with those Islamic states that have had the fortitude to either resist or throw off our influence. Countries like Iran or Libya. Added on to all of this is this growing trend of individuals and organizations rising from Muslim populaces to challenge poor governance at home and also to attack those who work to keep such poor governance in place.

If our populace mis-understands the problem it is because our leaders do as well, and this is equally true on both sides of the aisle.

Al Qaeda is a symptom, an organization for their times. They are political opportunists with an agenda to advance and a willingness to employ any degree of illegal violence necessary to achieve it. They also are empowered by the tools of globalization to enable a networked approach to global unconventional warfare and sustained by a rich base of poorly governed populaces. These populaces do not have to stretch their imagination too far to buy into the linkages of Western manipulation and influence to their current challenges of poor governance at home.

For the US., playing the political blame game won't help; and neither will aggressively attacking the symptoms of the problem with a mix of counterterrorism and nation building tactics.

The U.S. must restate the problem. The U.S. must take responsibility for the effects of its role in the Middle East over the past 60+ years. Once we have that cathartic moment, not unlike step one in 12-step program, we can begin to get better.

We can employ our influence to encourage meaningful evolution of government where such is required (on local terms, not ours)

We can become the champion of the oppressed people of these regions, standing on the principles contained within our Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights rather than more recent corruptions of that founding Ethos to justify our behavior. We can implement a form of "soft-UW" that encourages very effective non-violent approaches; over the violence offered by AQ. By out-competing AQ we render them moot. By attacking them we validate and strengthen them at the same time. (Like cutting up starfish and throwing them back in the ocean...it makes sense, but the actual effects are the opposite of those intended)

Or, placed in the terminology of my community: We must put the Liber back in De Oppresso Liber.