The Triumph Of Democracy Over Militant Islamism

The Triumph of Democracy traces the origins of al Qaeda through the founding of the Saudi Arabian monarchy and the establishment of Wahhabism as its state religion. Vast amounts of oil in the Arabian desert converted an obscure, ultra-reactionary Muslim religious sect into a dangerous threat to Western civilization. Al Qaeda is a Saudi phenomenon, and Americaas tangled relationships with Saudi Arabia are why al Qaeda attacked the United States on 9/11. Untangling those Saudi relationships was a central feature of American strategy for finding the right antidote to radical, Islamist terrorism. This required keeping bin Laden on the defensive by rapid deployment of American and Allied forces into al Qaedaas safe haven in Afghanistan. Continuing the offensive by toppling Saddam Hussein made the Saudis understand the presidentas enduring resolve to plant the seeds of freedom and democracy in the Middle East as the antidote to militant Islamism.