Quote Originally Posted by JeffC View Post
As far as I'm concerned, this is a good sign, particularly in combination with the Pentagon's consideration of an Iraq "Marshall Plan". It means that they're abandoning the "Islam is evil" mindset that has pervaded the White House and the Pentagon for most of the war in favor of a more moderate position which includes reaching out to the vast moderate Muslim community; something that must happen if we are to win the Long War.
In seven years I have not seen any evidence, whether in public statements or actual policy, that the government considers Islam evil and that such an attitude drives our strategy (however poor it is in other respects). They may be bad at "outreach" but the government in its clumsy way has been trying to show that the extremists are trying to hijack Islam and that we side with those moderates who want to live with the rest of the world in peace. For all the Bush Administration's sins, holding Islam at large as an enemy hasn't been one of them.