Long-Term Optimism Regarding the West Vs. Islam
I seriously doubt that, over the long run, fundamentalist Islam will triumph. The basic problem is that its retrogression harms it economically as well -- societies which try to keep half their people as domestic semi-slaves cannot outcompete societies which keep their whole populations free. Back before the 18th-19th centuries, the reverse was true because women usually died in childbirth, making it inefficient to train them professionally; but unless medical technology massively retrogresses this state of affairs is not likely to recur.
Fundamentalist Islam is also strongest among the Arabs, who tend to be militarily incompetent, given the demands of modern warfare. This trend may be very long-term; it is notable that the Arabs (as opposed to the Iranians, Berbers, Turks, Kurds, Moors, or Bengali) have been military losers since at least the 11th century CE -- the great Muslim empires of the 2nd Millennium have tended NOT to be dominated by Arabs but rather by these other Muslim groups.
When I express concern about the possibility of losing the current Terrorist War and fear that it will mean a bigger war down the road, I don't doubt for a moment that we'll win the bigger war -- the threat then will be great enough to induce the democracies to abandon all restraint in warfare. It's just that I don't want to see us suffer tens of millions of dead and inflict hundreds of millions of deaths on our foes. I'd rather see the situation resolved less bloodily.
Fundamentalist Islam is also strongest among the Arabs, who tend to be militarily incompetent, given the demands of modern warfare. This trend may be very long-term; it is notable that the Arabs (as opposed to the Iranians, Berbers, Turks, Kurds, Moors, or Bengali) have been military losers since at least the 11th century CE -- the great Muslim empires of the 2nd Millennium have tended NOT to be dominated by Arabs but rather by these other Muslim groups.
When I express concern about the possibility of losing the current Terrorist War and fear that it will mean a bigger war down the road, I don't doubt for a moment that we'll win the bigger war -- the threat then will be great enough to induce the democracies to abandon all restraint in warfare. It's just that I don't want to see us suffer tens of millions of dead and inflict hundreds of millions of deaths on our foes. I'd rather see the situation resolved less bloodily.