There it is folks. THe Neo-Con, GWB catch all Iraqi Occupation talking point.
And how many Muslim people have you ever spoken too? I got news for you, I live in NY, have family that was in Tower Two (just made it out) and other family and friends who were first responders. I travel constantly so I know the threat is real and regularly see the sky line I grew up with deformed. I know there are extremists out there who hate us and I know plenty of the MUslim community harbors them. I also know the majority of the Muslim community could give a rat's turd about us if we would not set up permanent shop in Iraq. We turned a movement of limited extremists who posed a threat to America into a rallying cry for the Islamic world NOT by invading Afghanistan (where the problem existed) but by our long term occupation of Iraq and how we have conducted ourselves during that occupation.
Figure this out people, you are not going to exterminate every Muslim on the planet earth. I know some of you have a hard time accepting that. Yes, they are a problem and their religion is a major cause of grief. We must also find SOME way of co-existing with them in the long term. I have no problem with going after the real nut jobs out to strap bombs to themselves but our current actions are CREATING them faster than we are killing them. We are actually driving moderate Muslims into the ranks of the Extremists.
People are fond of pointing out the problems in Europe, particularly France. Yes, there are primarily Muslim youth who have not integrated into the society causing these problems. Their unwillingness to integrate and accept the norms of the society are a major problem. There is more to it though. They have not integrated and France has not done much to integrate them at all. They brought them into their nation for cheap labor, housed them in run down ghettos and provided them with minimal chances to advance. You can't treat any group that way and not expect a problem. You can not simply label a problem that involves Muslims as due to Islam. Islam may be the factor that bonds them together but the problems in France were created by far more factors than simply religion. The youths setting the fires are the ones responsible for their actions but it is not a simple matter of "They hate our freedom."