Kerry would be the political equivalent of a cup of tea and a lie down

Putting Roy’s argument to one side - something all sensible people should do - let’s return to the basic poverty equals terrorism argument. It is far too simplistic; the real cause of terrorism is the failure of Arab nationalism and socialism, the subsequent corruption and oppression by many Middle Eastern governments and a retreat into religious fundamentalism by the disaffected in an attempt to explain and repair those failures.

Despite the reaction against modernity, Islamic terrorism is flexible and ruthless enough to use modern technology to achieve its aims. (Witness the gruesome paradox of Islamic terrorists, ideologically rooted in the Middle Ages, severing heads and using the Internet and satellite television to tell the world.) If Islamic terrorists had the opportunity to use the most sophisticated weapons of mass destruction on civilians, they would - it is capability, not intent, that restrains them. September 11 demonstrated this violence can’t be isolated to the Middle East and that containment is not an option.

The threat is not only from another terrorist attack. As the Canadian Muslim Irshad Manji wrote recently in the Sydney Morning Herald, “The trouble with Islam today is that the literal is going mainstream”. The murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh by a dual Dutch-Moroccan citizen is a salient warning. As The Wall Street Journal observed, “A central issue in America’s presidential election is whether Muslims are capable of democracy: President Bush believes they are, while John Kerry is sceptical. If Kerry is right, Europe’s future is quite grim.” Clearly democracy and liberalism in the Middle East will have an impact on Muslims and Islam in the wider international community.

Somehow the Middle East and Islam must be reconciled to democracy and liberalism and Iraq is the beachhead in that attempt. The September 10 crowd is yet to understand the importance of this task. Fortunately, the wider American population voted for a President, mistakes notwithstanding, who does.

Isn’t democracy grand?