Tactical Retreat?
Reader comment on item: Victory Shifts the Muslim World

Submitted by John in Michigan, USA (United States), Feb 14, 2009 at 15:20

The Arab Street of course exists, but a popular myth about the Arab Street is that it will spontaneously rise up if the US or the West makes any military response. Articles such as this one help explode that myth.

However, a note of caution: The article asserts "When Americans finally fought militant Islam, its appeal quickly diminished." In many of the cases mentioned in the article, time has shown that the retreat was tactical and temporary, rather than a true change of heart.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened for relevance, substance, and tone, and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome, but comments are rejected if scurrilous, off-topic, vulgar, ad hominem, or otherwise viewed as inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the Guidelines for Comments. For informational purposes, we identify countries from which comments are sent.