The War of Ideas by Walid Phares
published by Palgrave MacMillan
Here is a book that should be a must read for all people who want an understanding of the forces of terrorism now engulfing the world. Phares describes who the enemy is and those who directly and indirectly support them. He lays out their motives. He blows aside the common misconceptions that prevent the west from getting a good grasp of the religious political forces at work in societies from Baghdad to Washington and out to the world.
He describes three different periods of this war starting in the early to mid 20th century, how it changed focus in the 1990’s and finally the adjustments to strategy they are using after 9/11. This struggle is between Islamic Jihadism and the Democratic principles and ideals of the West. He goes further to explain why controlled societies such as Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia and others not only give tacit approval but financial and material support to the Islamic Jihadists.
During the mid 20th Century in the United States there was the embarrassment of the McCarthy hearings. The fifth column that never materialized as the broad threat that was being painted. However, in our world today there is a fifth column at work in the US and other western nations. It is being fuelled by petro dollars. There is an agenda to misdirect governments, institutions and the general public. Mr Phares does an admiral job explaining this threat to world peace.
To come up with viable workable solutions misconceptions must be cleared up. Only then can we hope to apply the correct actions to resolve the situations faced by freedom loving people. Only then can we understand the enemy and only then as a people stand firm against a common foe. For many Mr Phares book, the War of Ideas, will be a likely and beneficial start; on our road to understanding what lays before us and how to defend the Democratic principles and ideals we have come to cherish.