Hitchens vs. Wright on Root Causes

A debate over the root causes of Islamic terrorism.

An interesting exchange here on the issue of blow back and its role, if any, in fomenting Islamic radicalism. I think both Wright and Hitchens make some valid points. Ultimately, though, this kind of discussion is too circular. It's very hard to determine the causality here. People join terrorists movements for a number of reasons - coercion, religious zealotry, revenge, money, geopolitical outlook, etc. - and overly reductionist arguments about why this happens can lead us into a dead end.

The broader question is not why some Muslims commit violence, but why that violence is directed at the United States. Liberals like Wright tend to believe it's because of what we have done to them (even President Bush tacitly accepted this point). Conservatives tend to believe we're blameless and the violence is directed at us because of our freedoms. No one seems to want to grapple with a third possibility - that a toxic interplay of American policy and religious fundamentalism have brought us to this moment.