"America is not the fulcrum of the universe"

Paul Berman at his usual excellent, ponders the state of Islamist extremism. While Bush has committed his share of mistakes, the problem wasn't of his making nor will it disappear anytime soon. Actually, he implies, if any Westerners want to blame themselves, it should be the Fascists (almost half of Europe at one time) and the Communists (the other half). Tho I wouldn't be too harsh on them. Much of the awfulness is home-grown.

Extremist movements have been growing bigger and wilder for more than three decades now, during that period, America has tried pretty much everything from a policy point of view. Our presidents have been satanic (Richard Nixon), angelic (Jimmy Carter), a sleepy idiot savant (Ronald Reagan), a cagey realist (George H. W. Bush), wonderfully charming (Bill Clinton) and famously otherwise (George W. Bush). And each president’s Middle Eastern policy has conformed to his character.

Read the whole thing, as Glenn says.