Daily Kos Blames U.S. for Mumbai Terror

At this point, there's no evidence that global "poverty" caused the attacks in Mumbai. Investigations are ongoing, but the meme that poverty and economic repression is at root of the current attack is picking up steam, for example at the commentary from Fareed Zakaria.

Analysts have long noted that the attacks of this decade have been committed by educated, middle-class terrorists. Mohammed Atta hailed from an educated family of Egyptian professionals. London's 7/7 bombers had access to hundreds of thousands of dollars, most likely through a network of well-funded financial-terror cells. Some research has suggested that "the stereotype of a terrorist as poor, angry and fanatically religious is a myth."

But note the commentary at Daily Kos, on the suspected links from the Mumbai attack to Pakistan:

Poverty in Pakistan has aided and emboldened the extremists, so decreasing the poverty must be seen as a key stepping stone to international security and heading off more terrorist attacks. In that respect, the IMF loans to Pakistan must be restructured. Or else when Pakistan is blamed for the Mumbai attacks, it's only fair that we share that blame, too. And don't know about you, but personally, I feel ashamed.

The United States, of course, is the creator and main benefactor of the IMF. So, for the leftists, the causes of terrorism are found in the structure of the international system, with U.S. power and policies held as the causes of the global Islamic jihad. That explains why this writer is "ashamed."

But, again, this is all bull. The leftists blame the IMF and the "causes of poverty" because of their hatred of West. They refuse to place the blame for terror where it belongs: on the evil of the forces of destruction arrayed before us.

Melanie Phillips pins down the true essence of Islamic jihad's war against the West:

The atrocities demonstrated with crystal clarity what the Islamist war is all about – and the western commentariat didn’t understand because it simply refuses to acknowledge, even now, what that war actually is. It does not arise from particular grievances. It is not rooted in ‘despair’ over Palestine. It is not a reaction to the war in Iraq. It is a war waged in the name of Islam against America, Britain, Hindus, Jews and all who refuse to submit to Islamic conquest.

As I noted in my previous post, the left's refusal to espouse a patriotic love of country (and thus to the West) serves only to embolden our enemies. The fight for civilization, unfortunately, isn't just abroad, but is confronting us head on right here at home as well.