Many of those who complain so loudly about anti-Muslim prejudice in the west apparently have little to say when it comes to the Islamist violence that has created 800,000 Muslim refugees in Iraq this year alone, as well as snuffing out the lives of thousands of other innocent Muslims. Iraq is heading for civil war, and a large part of the blame for that lies with the Obama administration, which was so determined not to hand George W. Bush any kind of triumph that it abandoned the major battlefield and political gains, paid for with the lives of American troops, achieved during the “surge” of 2007-08.
Terrorist violence has, according to State Department figures, increased by nearly half over the past year. Up to 20,000 foreign jihadis are traveling back and forth from the region. Negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program are collapsing, again fueling speculation about an Israeli pre-emptive strike on Tehran’s key nuclear facilities.
Most Americans, however, know deep down that the Middle East will interrupt our foreign policy slumber sooner or later. That’s why, more than ever before, we need to be bolstering Israel, which has created a model democracy in one of the most reactionary regions on earth, and the Kurds, whose modest wish to join the family of democratic nations is one we should actively be seeking to grant.