Americans are famous for many things including a lack of patience. In the land of fast food and fast cars, being slow and methodical is not always seen as a virtue.  What is true in daily life has shown itself to be also applicable to American foreign policy. The long haul strategy of days past has been replaced with snap shot diplomacy; a point of view that values instant gratification over long term goals. While the such s foreign policy fits well with American politics it is disastrous to its long term survival.

The North Vietnamese exploited American impatience to wear down U.S. resolve in the Vietnam War. Similarly, the Chinese multi-generational approach to achieving world dominance means one day the U.S. might have to play second fiddle to the Asian powerhouse. Even now the communist nation holds the mortgage on America’s financial future, given to them by politicians for thirty pieces of political silver. Another group seeking to exploit American short sightedness are the radical Islamist with whom the U.S. is at war.

As the U.S concentrates on assassinating the Al Qaeda leadership, the real threat is being ignored. Killing terrorist leaders might of make great headlines but it does little to stop the advance of the cause they are fighting for. The dream of a Pan Arab Islamic state drives much of the violence in the Middle East. In other parts of the globe similar dreams of national and regional Islamic control are spreading bloodshed as well. These fighters are dedicated to the cause and are willing to accept any price to advance it. For them it does not matter if it takes a decade or a century to achieve, as long as it is.

This is of course not new, the religious dogma that drives their murderous rampages has always existed. What has uncorked the Islamic Jihadist bottle is shortsighted politicians on ideological crusades.  For centuries the Ottomans held the dark side of Arab fanaticism in check. After they liberated themselves from Turkish rule (with a little help from the British and Lawrence of Arabia) new dictatorial kingdoms were installed that managed to do the same. That has all changed with the advocating of democracy at all cost

Afghanistan was the first of many tragedies to emerge out of western incompetence in dealing with Islamic cultures. Freed from Soviet domination and then left to their own devices, they became a breeding ground for radicals. Today the Arab Spring has left the whole region in flames. As the old bonds of dictatorship have been broken new are being forged. Infused with radical Islamic energy, the Arab World is coming apart at the seams. Only in Egypt is the military for now keeping the hounds of Islamic hell at bay.

Through it all, the U.S., and Western nations as a whole, seem oblivious to what is happening. Their support for revolutions they failed to understand has endangered the few sprigs of freedom that have tried to take hold. Leaders who equated democracy with freedom have led the world down a dark path that ends in bloodshed.

The truth is liberty is a flower whose beauty often belies its fragility. Only when protected by the Rule of Law and a constitution rooted in individual rights can it prosper. Even then, it needs either the protection of a society dedicated to the prospect that all mankind deserve respect or a strong government willing to make it so. For a nation, it is better to be ruled by a wicked but level minded tyrant then ravaged by mobs desiring to destroy all that does not agree with them.

The failure of the west to realize the cultural and religious forces at work has led to the disasters unfolding across the world. Iraq and Libya are both on the verge of collapsing into terror driven hells. Afghanistan exist only as long as the U.S. is willing to prop it up. In Syria thousands are dying as tyrannical reprobate and Islamic terrorist vie for power. The common thread woven through it all is growing influence and power of Al Qaeda and its affiliates. The terror group is not just expanding in its spiritual homelands but across the globe as well.

The truth is that while the U.S. has been able to maintain relatively free from major terrorist attacks. it has been losing the War on Terror abroad. Its strategy of killing the leadership is proving an exercise in futility. In contrast, its push for democratization of the Middle East has fomented a resurgence in grassroots terror movements. The failure of American policy is merely a reflection of the failure to understand the nature of the foe it is fighting. The American homeland is a sideshow to the terrorist, their real goal lies elsewhere in the Middle East and other Muslim regions; a goal America is helping them to achieve.

“The Conservative Mind”

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