What this guy says

A few years ago, Res Ipsa, was kind enough to send me Lawrence Wright's 'The Looming Tower'. The subject matter was the rise of Islamic Extremism, it's origins, and focused on the period from the end of the Second World War (and the discovery of oil deposits on a huge scale), exploitation, wealth, and counter-reaction to both as it eventually came to rest in Bin Laden and Zawahiri. It is, without a doubt, the best book I've ever read on how we came to the place we were on 9/11/01. If you haven't read it, you simply must do so, but don't just rely on me, Josh Marshall has come to agree.

What Lawrence Wright says about the effect of domestic and international politics on groups like Al Qaeda is authoritative and should be listened to:

The best ally in the struggle against violent Islamism is moderate Islam. The unfounded attacks on the backers of Park51 and others, along with such sideshows as a pastor calling for the burning of Korans, give substance to the Al Qaeda argument that the U.S. is waging a war against Islam, rather than against the terrorists’ misshapen effigy of that religion. Those stirring the pot in this debate are casting a spell that is far more dangerous than they may imagine.