Precisely Hawk, it's not so much a struggle of Islam vs the western world, as much as it's a struggle over a form of Islam (created and perpetuated by power hungry men), toward the rest of the world.
Radical Islam needs to go through its "reformation". The process can start from the top, from the bottom, or from an outside entity. But begin it must. How the Iraqi government is formed, how it evolves, and how it ensures basic human rights for its citizens, will be a watershed event if pulled off successfully.
Building a democracy in Iraq, where the rights of all Iraqi citizens are valued, is the most important goal facing coalition forces now.
Despite the marches in Baghdad, my instinct tells me they will pull it off. A democracy in the heart of the Middle East will change so much over time. |
