(New York Post) Amir Taheri - The recent three-day White House conference on "violent extremism" exposed an unwillingness to understand the challenge of Islamist terrorism. At the conference, President Obama said: "If we are going to prevent people from being susceptible to false promises of extremism, then the international community has to offer something better" - specifically, "economic growth." This is painfully naive. The "Caliphate" isn't recruiting among the world's downtrodden. Its administration is run by highly-educated individuals, many from wealthy families in Arab countries. Its army does not consist of poverty-stricken individuals protesting against Western imperialism. They all seem fairly well-fed and stylishly dressed, bearing smartphones and expensive Swiss watches.
2015-02-27 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive