I this &quot;western foreign policy&quot; plays a complex role, some of it has been negative. In some cases, like Iraq, it is more a failure of that policy that has had a negative effect.<p>However, I think this features far too prominently in a lot of people&#x27;s outlooks than it should. Nothing, including terrorism is born in a vacuum but I don&#x27;t think American involvement in Middle Eastern conflicts is the primary cause. Various Tsarist policies at the turn of the century are responsible for the conditions that gave rise to revolutionary communism in Russia, but communism was a greater force than Tsarist policies.<p>We are talking about a spectrum of religious-nationalist beliefs that are turning other wars, conflicts, slights, frustrations, rivalries and any other available fuel and putting it to use. This includes American policies in Iraq. They are fuelling it, but I really do not think they are creating it.