Sir, - I would like to respond to the assertions frequently appearing in your newspaper that the West somehow "created terrorism" in the Middle East, or that the USA invited retribution from Islamic militants by supporting Israel. First of all, the political turmoil of Islamic states pre-dates the 20th century. Since their summit of power in the 17th century, the Islamic world produced no unifying forces like the Ottoman or Mogul empires, which were great powers in their day.
The chronic instability of the Middle East is not totally due to the establishment of Israel, and it is clear that this region would be an area of great tension even if Israel and Palestine had been set up peacefully in 1948. This is unlike the Far East, which actually suffered more under colonialism, yet went on to produce a post-war economic miracle.
Claiming that the West created terrorists in the Middle East is an insult to Islamic peoples as it suggests that they can only react to an agenda set by others. The regimes in the region have mainly been the authors of their own difficulty, for example by backing the USSR in the Cold War (as Syria, Iraq and Egypt did for many years), even though Islam and Marxist materialism made strange bedfellows.
Secondly, it has been truly said that Islamic fundamentalism is an analogue with Western Fascism. Both are utopian, totalitarian and brutal. Both depend on bonds forged by a common literacy and culture. Islamic fundamentalism seeks to establish (or re-establish) an Islamic world power, and has caused periodic upheavals in the Middle East for centuries (for example, in Sudan in the 1880s - remember Gordon and Khartoum). It would be what it is if Zionism never existed.
Seen this way, the West can be no more responsible for the rise of Islamic militancy that it was responsible for the rise of Hitler. Just like Fascism, Islamic fundamentalism is an enemy of democracy, and is naturally aggressive. It should be remembered that, in this struggle, the stakes are highest in those Islamic countries that have made their first hesitant steps towards liberal societies - for example, Iran, Kuwait and the Gulf states.
A false step could put back the progress made in these countries, and the hopes of it in others. With that in view, the cautious approach of the American leadership should be applauded and supported by Ireland. But let's cut out the rubbish about "creating terrorists" and laying everything at the door of Israel. - Yours, etc.,
Toby Joyce, Navan, Co Meath.