Which comes first Islamic violence or the “oppression” of Muslims? It’s an important question to answer because it informs how you believe the problem of Jihadism can be addressed. I you think suicide bombs are detonated because of an essential unfairness in how Muslim countries are treated, and world wide oppression of Muslims causes terrorism, then the solution to Jihad is simpler changing policies and handing out international welfare checks. If, however, Muslims are in the positions they’re in because they’ve proved themselves time and again to be violent expansionists who alienate the good will of others, then the solution to the Jihad is even simpler, but more distasteful.

Cold Fury posits the question and links to an insightful article by David Frum which takes the latter position in light of the widely held belief that the Israeli-Palestine conflict plays a part in the Iraqi war.

Until we accept that all of the hatred from the Islamic world for Western Civilization predates any occupation or oppression, that it is if fact based on Islam’s imperialist view of the world and it’s own bigotry and intolerance, we’ll never defeat the Jihad.