Fifth, arguably the most significant point, is that Islamists are united, notwithstanding the well-publicized differences between Sunnis and Shi'ites. Islamists believe the West has been weakened by cultural degradation. They also believe their goal of caliphates from Madrid to Jakarta is an inevitability. By contrast, the United States itself and its allies are divided on strategy and on the marshaling of resources to fight the enemy...
Right now they are united because they share a common disdain for the West. The question is how do we split them? Current controveries in Britain and France over headscarves is not helping Muslims to feel accepted in the west. To defeat these Islamists we must find a way to deny them the support of the majority of Muslims by delegitimizing their cause and/or increasing the acceptance of the western world. There is no easy or quick fixes for this and the west must do a better job of presenting itself while simultaneously discrediting these extremist ideas if we are ever going to be successful.