The rigidity and brutality of America’s behavior – resulting in many times more civilian deaths than occurred on September 11 – have blocked any useful intervention by countries such as Algeria, Morocco, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, or the United Arab Emirates. Likewise, the appeal of war has ruled out the prospect of serious negotiations between Israel, Syria, and Lebanon.
国际社会对此束手无策。美国行动的僵化和残暴—造成的平民死亡人数比9.11袭击中高出许多倍—阻碍了阿尔及利亚、摩洛哥、约旦、沙特或阿联酋等国进行任何有益的干预。同样，战争的诉求也排除了以色列、叙利亚和黎巴嫩之间进行严肃谈判的前景。由于一个接一个地攻击穆斯林国家，美国及其盟友给世界造成了这样一种印象，即伊斯兰教本身是他们的敌人，从而无情地导致美国口口声声想要避免的“文明的冲突”。