[MMMMMM]

I will try to clarify (and simplify) once again.

Western involvement has indeed contributed to some of the problems in the Middle East, but the much deeper problem is Middle Eastern 7th-century-type thinking and the host of resultant problems stemming from it.

We need to stop Iran from getting nukes, first and foremost. That doesn't mean we need to nuke Tehran, but it does mean doing whatever may become necessary.

Even if we did nothing at all in the Middle East, and removed all Westerners from the region, the fanatical mullahs would not slow their march towards spreading theocracy. And the jihadists would not relent in their efforts to re-establish a caliphate and rule the entire Middle East under sharia, and from thence to wage jihad on the bordering infidel populations.

The biggest problem is their thinking, not our actions (although again I'm not saying Western actions have not been contributing factors to some extent).

This is one reason (amongst many) why it is essential to establish democracy in Iraq and to have it catch on and succeed. With a more liberal, empowering political system, Middle Easterners can gain greater proserity and personal freedoms and may be more tempted to shun 7th-century totalitarian ideologies. While there is no guarantee the experiment in Iraq will succeed, democracy is what the Middle East desperately needs.

The jihadists and theocrats know how dangerous democracy is to their totalitarian religio-political ideals and systems. This is why they are fighting tooth and nail in Iraq, and why we must do everything in our power to stay the course until democracy succeeds in Iraq, and the Iraqi people become self-empowered enough to effectively deal with the jihadists and totalitarians (who wish to enslave everyone under 7th-century-style sharia and absolutist religious governance).