April 07, 2004, Recent acts of barbarism against Coalition
forces in Iraq have revived an old and enormously important
debate: Are these terrorists the products of fanatic tyrannies,
or are the tyrannies the logical expression of the true nature
of the peoples of the region? This is not an academic exercise,
for many argue that our foreign policy depends on the answer. If
we believe that the barbarism is the result of the likes of
Saddam Hussein and the Iranian mullahs, then the war against
terrorism should concentrate on regime change. Once the tyrants
are removed, the terrorists will be deprived of their
sustenance, and greater freedom and democracy can be expected.
But, it is said, if fanaticism and barbarism are intrinsically
part and parcel of the region's culture, mere regime change
cannot possibly eliminate this sort of terrorism. Some way would
have to be found to change the culture, and only then could
terrorism be truly defeated and a political transformation
succeed. It is an ancient and highly ins