Simplistic views on terrorism

TIM HARRIGAN :: The Boston Globe - Boston.com - Letters - News: "IN HER column ''A moral muddle on the left" (op ed, July 18), Cathy Young missed the mark, like so many who find fault with the ''moderate left."

Moderate liberals stand four-square behind the condemnations of the 9/11 hijackers, the Madrid bombers, the Bali bombers, and the London attacks. But we question whether the solution to terrorism can come from simplistic thinking that properly labels terrorism as evil but doesn't ask why people do it.

The stated goal of the terrorists is to defend Islam against ''attacks." These ''attacks" were exaggerated, even delusional, before 9/11, and they remain mostly so, but with more than 100,000 troops in Iraq, we ourselves give the radical fringe something to point to and call ''an attack on Islam." The prisoner abuse and the statements of many of the ''Christian mullahs" on the American right compound the problem.

Recognizing these facts is not being morally muddled; it is thinking clearly. We've got to stop giving the radical Muslim fringe recruiting material so they can attract and produce terrorists."