The Invasion of Iraq, Islamic Extremism, & Terrorism

Is there a solution to the problem of the popularity of Islamic Extremism in the Arab Muslim world? Well, yes - sort of. One of the problems of the Arab Muslim world is oil - they rely on it too much. Everything is invested in oil capital, none invested in human capital. They don't produce the best and brightest who could make Damascus or Baghdad important centers of science, art, music, culture, technology, etc.

If people can achieve such goals, and do so in a secular context, then Arab Muslims could lose the inferiority complex which breeds extremism, but without resorting to Islamic fundamentalism. Everyone wins - not only do Arab Muslims benefit, but everyone else will benefit from what they can provide the rest of the world, just as they once did in their Golden Age.

This suggests, then, that post-invasion the United States and Great Britain must invest heavily in the infrastructure of secular education, not just democratic institutions. It also suggests that decreasing our reliance on foreign oil, often touted as important for the future of the West, may also be just as important for the future of the Middle East. That's awfully curious.

But will a post-war Iraq receive the support needed for developing secular education and for reducing its dependence upon oil exports? It would be wise to be skeptical of that occurring so long as the current American administration remains in power.

For one thing, the Bush administration has been very active in reducing the strength of public, secular education in favor of increased reliance upon religious education - for example, through educational voucher schemes. That is exactly what the Middle East does not need more of.

For another thing, the Bush administration has been very active in developing new and expanded sources of oil, for example by drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It doesn't seem very likely that these same people would then turn around and help Iraq spend less on oil capital and more on human capital.

Nobody knows what the future will bring, but it will help to understand what sorts of things we really should be hoping for.