Political Crossfire Forums

Islamic extremism is a fairly recent phenomena, not endemic to the region at all.

Case in point:

Take Iran for example. Fairly modern nation, progressing nicely until the UK and the US decided they wanted their resources. The CIA overthrew the democratically elected president of Iran and replaced him with a monarch and a reign of terror.

The response? A great Islamic revival that kicked our sorry ass out of there. Now it is a backward land overrun with religious extremists. We totally created that monster for ourselves and should be studying ways to never do that again instead of trying to repeat the process over and over.

You are still trying to attribute anything good happening in the Middle East to exposure to European ideals. That is completely offensive.

Also FYI I don't think you completely understood my point about Iran

I wouldn't exactly point to the shah of Iran as some type of force for modernization. Iran had a modern democratic government before the shah and we forced them back into feudalism.

The result?

Regression and Islamic extremism. That is the true legacy of European interference in the ME.