Islamic Fundamentalism and the Struggle Against It

This blog has taken a brief High Holidays break; we are now back in business.

The New York Times website has an interesting innovation, a dialogue called The Conversation which involves their regular columnists discussing a current issue. Yesterday’s ” title=”David Brooks”>David Brooks and ” title=”Week in Review”>Week in Review . It’s worth a read.

Many students of terrorism believe that in important ways, Al Qaeda and its ideology of global jihad are in a pronounced decline — with its central leadership thrown off balance as operatives are increasingly picked off by missiles and manhunts and, more important, with its tactics discredited in public opinion across the Muslim world.

Their views are not necessarily incompatible, we could be succeeding against Al Qaeda while also witnessing the spread of an intolerant and dangerous fundamentalism that simply can’t come to grips with the modern world.