US Support for Jihadists Against the Soviets Promoted Terrorism
Driving away from that conversation I was convinced more than ever that the various terrorist movements unleashed in this corner of the world over the last twenty years have their origins in the policies of Jimmy Carter, that most pacific of all postwar American presidents who, prodded by his National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, decided to undermine and repel the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan of Christmas Day, 1979, by any means necessary, including the funding, training and arming of militants who burned with anti-communist zealotry much as they burn against the Western or Indian “infidel” today.
But, wait. There's more! When did the Shah of Iran fall to the Mad Mullahs of Iran? That's right, also in 1979. Both types of Islamic radicalism (Sunni and Shia), and the associated jihadist terrorism, track back to the Carter Administration. Would the Qur'an still contain the philosophical material for jihad no matter what President Carter did? Certainly. Was Islamic radicalism taught? Yes, of course.
This op-ed agrees with something I've argued at Little Green Footballs and Jihad Watch, but it has limitations. We focus too much on U.S. presidents for causation. Assuming presidents do control events, which is overstated, Carter deserves much of the blame for modern jihadist terrorism.
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