Why jihadists target the West | csmonitor.com

CSM reports A recent global upsurge in Islamist terrorism is rekindling a debate over the extremists' motivations that first spiked after the 9/11 attacks: Is the violence aimed at who we (the West) are - or at what we do? For some experts, the attacks - whether in London or Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt - are aimed at the West for what it is doing: in other words for its policies, like the war in Iraq. Others insist that the perpetrators are more at odds with the ideals of the West and "who we are."

CSM is running a poll on this subject, and with 988 votes in 62.1% think it is "what we do", and 37.9% think it is "who we are". These results how how people have been fooled by the MSM. Only 37.9% realize the truth, it is "who we are". For those who say it is because of the War in Iraq, remember we were not in Iraq OR in Afganistan when planes were flown into two buildings in New York, into the Pentagon, and into a field in Pennsylvania (probably headed for either the White House or Congress).

For the latter group, this is a war of civilizations or ideologies that the West has no choice but to fight aggressively, because anything else would entail appeasement and imply a retreat from identity and principles.

Precisely. And while there may be some validity in the "what we do", it is not focused on our presence in Iraq (that is just an excuse, and if we were not in Iraq it would be our presence in Afganistan, or our support for Israel, or some other excuse). The "what we do" that they object to is our culture. They object to the movies and TV shows that come out of Hollywood. I happen to object to many of them as well, but I just don't watch those movies and TV shows; I don't blow myself up to kill others. They object to they way we treat women with respect, and to the way our women dress. If they dont like it, they need to move elsewhere, because I dont see that changing (and I wonder if their women would prefer to stay here).