Regarding the Middle East, Isreal, Palestine, Sunnis, Shia' etc., there have been all kinds of criticisms of what the strategy of the Bush administration was, and now what the Obama strategy is, even though they are somewhat different. There are prognostications of what will work but far more often, what won't.

But we're left with the same problem, it seems. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. It's members are spreading around the globe--to Europe, Africa, the U.S., and Canada. The birth rate of Muslims is in the range of four times that of any other religion or ethnic group. In a few decades, they will be both a political and religious force to be reckoned with. They're already an increasing unsettling force thruout the western world because of their willingness to kill themselves in order to kill many others as a demonstration of their faith. That fact is undeniable.

The "problem with Islam" is worsened by the fact that a huge amount of the oil that we import comes from the Middle East, and there are no other reasonable alternatives sources to supply the U.S. with oil in that quantity. The imbalance of trade as the result leaves Saudi Arabia awash with U.S. dollars. Along with China, the Saudis have become one of the largest buyers of U.S. debt in the world.

At the same time, there is serious unrest in the Islamic homelands in the Middle East. The existence of Israel is a canker right in the middle of Islam. Muslims and Jews will likely never get along with one another. The U.S. is hated by Islam because of our steadfast support of Israel. Islamic fundamentalist hatred has exhibited itself in the numerous jihadist attacks on western and U.S. interests and people in recent years. Israel is becoming far less willing to cooperate with the U.S., while still expecting our money and security provided by our military and the weapons we sell them. The ease of travel, the information available on the internet, and very porous borders in most western countries will almost certainly result in more terrorist attacks. It's only a matter of time, it seems.

So if some disagree with the Bush strategy, and others now disagree with the Obama strategy, then what is the correct strategy to begin to minimize the threat of terrorism? What strategy should be used to assure the flow of oil and dollars back to the U.S. from the Middle East? The "problem" is not going away. In fact, as I said above, it's getting bigger as Islam grows and spreads.

So, if we don't like the approach taken by our most recent two Presidents and our last two majority political administrations...then what would YOU do to address the problem? That seems like a logical question to me.
__________________