I've always been more interested in the question "why do they hate?" rather than "why do they hate us?" when pondering jihadi murderous rages against the West. Worrying that Iraq created jihadis always seemed rather silly given that pretty much anything we do can set them off.
In my more pessimistic moods, I wonder why so many of us seem to hate us.
Anyway, for some of us, our actions abroad invite jihadi rage. Europeans surely must have far fewer problems with jihadis given they've largely checked out of the overseas kinetics of the war on terror.
Oh, Europeans will happily clamp down on local freedoms to protect against jihadi rage. And they'll fight Moslems when it suits them (Libya and Mali). They've even participated a bit in our fights in Iraq and Afghanistan. But never enthusiastically and never in the lead in those fights. You'd think that European restraint would keep the jihadis from hating Europeans too much, no?
Apparently not (from Stratfor):
On March 26, the Belgian federal police's counterterrorism force, or Special Units, conducted a felony car stop on Hakim Benladghem, a 39-year-old French citizen of Algerian extraction. When Benladghem reacted aggressively, he was shot and killed by the police attempting to arrest him. The Special Units chose to take Benladghem down in a car stop rather than arrest him at his home because it had intelligence indicating that he was heavily armed. The authorities also knew from their French counterparts that Benladghem had been trained as a paratrooper in the French Foreign Legion. ...
Belgian authorities are now undoubtedly working with their European and other allies to investigate Benladghem's contacts in order to determine the scope of the network he was a part of and what threat his associates still pose. This potential threat is a reminder of the challenges that radicalized European Muslims present for European authorities.
Belgium! A country more likely to indict an American president for war crimes than fight jihadis abroad! If even Belgium has to confront jihadis, maybe everyone should ask "why do they hate?" when pondering jihadi violence.
It makes you appreciate America's Moslem population which has not turned into a source of jihadi terrorism, except for isolated cases. Stratfor notes that difference, too:
In the United States, where the Muslim community is more integrated and less likely to be isolated in their own districts, plotters tend to be more self-radicalized and aspirational. Once they become radicalized -- frequently via the Internet -- it is quite common for them to be arrested as they seek assistance with their plots from individuals who are FBI agents or police informants working on sting operations.
America isn't so bad, it seems. Many on the left worry that our people will blame American Moslems for terrorism. But we have not. In the days after 9/11, I argued our Moslems are not a threat and that we must not target them because they are Moslem. We have not. And after more than a decade of war, our Moslem citizens are not fertile recruiting grounds for jihad's call. Our president and college administrators know more terrorists than your average American Moslem.
But restrained and--dare I say it--nuanced Europe has quite the jihadi problem.
Maybe we should all stop hating our own culture of freedom in the belief that freedom is an insult to Islam. I mean, even if Moslems feel insulted by our freedoms, that should not be our problem--it's their problem. Let them wallow in poverty and submission to whatever nut with a good black and green speech makes it to the palace with enough armed supporters to stay there, rather than willingly join them in that dystopian course of action. Why are so many on our left who argue that fighting jihadis too much is a victory for the jihadis if it causes us to lose our freedom ("If we do X to resist jihadis, the jihadis win.") so eager to give up our freedoms in a futile attempt to appease our jihadi enemies? If the left has a point about giving up freedoms to fight jihadis (and they do have a point--which is why I want to fight and win the war), why isn't just giving in to their threats to stop "insulting" them just as much a victory for jihadis?
But never forget that more Moslems are killed by jihadi rage. Many Moslems reject jihadis and need our help to overcome jihadi appeal.
For jihadis, you're either with them or against them. Be against them.
