Clash of Ciuilizations? -
707
the Islamic banks, there is indeed a rhrear ro rhe Middle East. It is, however,a threat that cannot be dealt with by military means.Indeed, it will get worse in preciseproporrion to the intrusivenessof the U.S. political, military, and economicpresencein the region. Only by rapidly withdrawing from Afghanistan and Iraq, by reducing America's overweeningpresencein Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, and by reversing U.S. support for Israel'saggressiveopposition to Palestiniannationalism can the United Statesundercut the anger,frustration, and resentment that fuelslslamism. ReducingAmerica'sfootprint in the Middle Eastis the polar opposite of the Bush administration'spolicy, however.Cynically perhaps, the administration has wielded the idea of a broad struggle againsr terrorism to pursue a policy aimed at redrawing the entire map of the Middle East.The radical, or "idealist" neoconservatives, from administration officials to armchair strategistsat think tanks such as the American EnterpriseInstitute, the Hudson Instirute, and the project for a New American Century, announcedthat the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were just the first two salvosin a sweepingplan to seizecontrol of Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf srates.Even the more mainstream Bush administration officials, while eschewingsome of the neoconservatives' visions,support the idea of a greaterU.S. military presencein the region from North Africa to Indonesia. Astute critics of the Bush administrarion's military-based antiterrorism policies and imperial pretensionshave argued that it is a strategyguaranteedto backfire,and one that seemsdesignedto create more terroriststhan it kills. Anger againstthe occupationof Iraq and Afghanistan is likely to draw new jihadists inro battle in those rwo countries,and the conflict could spreadinto both Pakistanand Saudi Arabia, where conservative,Islam-orientedgovernmentscould fall to far more radical dissident groups associatedwith bin Laden, the mujahideen,the Taliban, and a \Tahhabi extremistunderground. A secondprong of the Bush adminisrrarion'sMiddle East policy is likely to prove equally counterproductive,namely,its vauntedcall for democraticreform. The administration'ssupport for democracy in the region is, on the surfaceat least,a stunningabout-face.For years,especiallyduring