[colorado tanker]

IMHO, the problem is not Islam, although radical Wahabbism is used to justify the terrorists behavior. The largest Muslim populations in the world are in Indonesia and India and generally don't act this way.

In my opinion the instability in the Middle East results from the power vacuum left by the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of WWI and the collapse of the European colonialism that attempted to replace it. We still don't know what group or country is going to emerge as dominant in the region, although Iran is making a powerful bid.

This region has not been self-governing since the foundation of the Ottoman Empire, a period of about four centuries. The present borders are mostly artificial creations.

IMHO the region would have had a much better chance if at the end of WWI the British hadn't double-crossed its Arab allies and allowed the creation of a unified Arab state with Damascus as the capital.

[G8 Diplomat]

Interesting take...

IMHO the region would have had a much better chance if at the end of WWI the British hadn't double-crossed its Arab allies and allowed the creation of a unified Arab state with Damascus as the capital.

Also, the Middle East wouldn't be as chaotic as it is today if Jimmy Carter hadn't double-crossed his Iranian allies and allowed the creation of an Islamic theocracy chasing the bomb that is the largest exporter of terror in the world.