next generation of terrorists? The US is putting relatively little effort into a
long-range plan, but we are putting a great deal of effort into trying to stop
terrorists. The cost-benefit ratio is against us! Our cost is billions against the
terrorists' costs of millions."
tion that the President and Congress have given to the military and intelligence
parts of the conflict against Islamist terrorism.
The United States is heavily engaged in the Muslim world and will be for many
years to come.This American engagement is resented. Polls in 2002 found that
among America's friends, like Egypt--the recipient of more U.S. aid for the
past 20 years than any other Muslim country--only 15 percent of the popu-
lation had a favorable opinion of the United States. In Saudi Arabia the num-
ber was 12 percent.And two-thirds of those surveyed in 2003 in countries from
Indonesia to Turkey (a NATO ally) were very or somewhat fearful that the
United States may attack them.
was doing the right thing in its fight against terrorism; few people saw popu-
lar support for al Qaeda; half of those surveyed said that ordinary people had a
favorable view of the United States. By 2003, polls showed that "the bottom
has fallen out of support for America in most of the Muslim world. Negative
views of the U.S. among Muslims, which had been largely limited to countries
in the Middle East, have spread. . . . Since last summer, favorable ratings for the
U.S. have fallen from 61% to 15% in Indonesia and from 71% to 38% among
Muslims in Nigeria."
ionable "Occidentalism" among intellectuals who caricature U.S. values and
policies. Local newspapers and the few influential satellite broadcasters--like
al Jazeera--often reinforce the jihadist theme that portrays the United States
as anti-Muslim.
majority of Arabs and Muslims that we must encourage reform, freedom,
democracy, and opportunity, even though our own promotion of these mes-
sages is limited in its effectiveness simply because we are its carriers. Muslims
themselves will have to reflect upon such basic issues as the concept of jihad,
the position of women, and the place of non-Muslim minorities.The United