<Finally, although I'm aware this is a lost cause in this venue, I believe, in my heart of hearts, to the depths of my soul (not very deep, that soul, but you get the idea) that it would do the US a lot of good to find out exactly why people responded the way they did. How could that hurt us? From THEIR point of view, are there some legitimate reasons which would cost US little or nothing to correct?

A very pricey fix, but we’re doing it today. It’s called rebuilding governments in the form of democracies in the Middle East. That, my friend, is the bear. The faltering, failing, lost, medieval world of that entire region is well past its prime and can only continue to corrode, while angering its own citizens to strike out at its more successful, and hatefully Western, neighbors.

It’s a small planet, and there is now no room for violent extremists.

Dan