Culpable

Michael Warren Davis writes in Taki's Magazine,

There is indeed a “moderate majority” of Muslims. We just keep killing them all off.

From Iran in 1979 to Iraq in 2003, the United States has actively worked to depose moderate Muslim strongmen, even at the risk—and sometimes for the explicit purpose—of elevating fundamentalist theocrats. Now, that’s plenty to resent. But then, after standing by as the triumphant jihadists purge those loyal to the fallen secularist regimes, we puzzle at the lack of pro-American Muslims in the Middle East.

This is the pattern of American interventionism. Our leaders get it into their heads that an industrialized and secular but repressive country in the Middle East doesn’t sufficiently resemble Burlington, Vermont. They seek out the nearest AK-toting, kaffiyeh-clad street tough who speaks enough English to say, “The Islamic republic will be like the French republic.” Elated to have found an enlightened (not to mention hunky!) young upstart amid all these drab handlebar mustaches, they chuck fistfuls of cash and munitions at him until he deposes the old regime, ideally with bayonets. And when, in a cruel and truly inexplicable twist of fate, our friend Muhammad al-Guevara turns out to be a bloodthirsty terrorist, we just scratch our heads and go home. When he starts massacring Christians, Jews, and gays, we do our best not to think about it. When his sympathizers kill our Christians, Jews, and gays, we quietly remind ourselves that anyone who reads too much into it is an Islamophobe.

Syria is now going the way of Iran and Iraq. If ISIS ousts Assad, their reprisals will be unthinkable. Al-Baghdadi’s brutality will make Ayatollah Khomeini look like Lord Licorice. Moderates—murtaddin, or “apostates”—will bear the brunt of their genocidal fury.

And we’ll be culpable in their fate. Again.

Read more here.