What is never said...

Here's what you can hear these days, six years after September 11: "The US President, through his war in Iraq against Islamic totalitarianism, radicalized the Muslim world and weakened the Western world. Incidentally, France predicted that." Nice.

But then, how come that Jacques Chirac has already fallen into oblivion? It's not him but Tony Blair, who left power not long after him, who has been appointed as mediator in the Near-East. Maybe our leaders believe that "George Bush's poodle" knows it better, right?

The angelic view says that terrorism is the expression of poverty and humiliation. This cliché forgets about the jihad fought against Western world and its way of life, in the name of a conquest and submission ideology. Some months ago, Osama Bin Laden invited Americans to join Islam while Al-Qaida attacked twice disobedient Algeria. Hatred leads Muslims into murdering other Muslims ...

But this time, victims were reacting. Algerians demonstrated in the streets, saying clearly "No to violence." On the same day in Gaza, a general strike took place to protest against the violent politics of Hamas. In Iraq, a poll showed that citizen consider Al Qaida to be the main cause of violence (21%), before USA (19%) and Iran (11%)

Nazislamism, fought by Bush and Blair, is beginning to be rejected by Muslims who feel dishonored by its barbary. In the al-Anbar province (Iraq) Sunnite militia are now collaborating with Americans. In Iran, Ahmadinejad is considered a disgrace for part of the population. In Morocco, even the so called "moderate islamists" didn't do good in the last election.

One wonders if it would be the case if pacifist France had been followed, France which advocated status-quo in Iraq and didn't want to hear about a war against terrorism? USA's strategy can't be summed up in the chaos that medias love to describe. Pointing his finger at the enemy, Bush has been awakening the Free World's vigilance. THAT'S WHAT IS NEVER SAID.

Some kind of contempt towards Arab-Muslim world leads to think that it can only understand the voice of tyranny. In essence, it's the argument of the Leftist intelligentsia who condemn Bush for willing to free Iraq of its pseudo-secular dictatorship. When hearing them, you get the feeling that Saddam Hussein should have been left free to terrorize its people.

Actually, even if Americans blew up Iraq's occupation with their unpreparedness and certitude, they nonetheless clarified the stake, showing that the cultures clash is between submission and freedom rather than between Arabs and Westerners.

Yes, it was naive to think that democracy would prevail in Baghdad and then spread in the neighbouring countries. But it's still reachable and many Iraqis hope to consolidate it. "We are building the bases of a new democracy" explains Hohyar Zebari, Foreign Affairs Minister. Still, many so-called specialists go on incriminating USA and this position makes Bin Laden master of the game. This kind of "surrender" only satisfies islamists.

The free world can't afford to give a hand to its enemies. Now, radical Islam takes advantage of this confusion to try and establish itself in Europe. In Germany, two converts were on the verge of committing suicide attacks. The Jewish community in this country must be concerned with the rise of this new antisemitism initiated by hatred preachers.

Not long ago in the Netherlands, ex-Muslims decided to denounce politic Islam. "We are breaking the taboo coming with abjuration of Islam, but we also take the party of reason, rights and universal values as well as secularism" they wrote in their "European declaration for tolerance." In France also, many secular Muslims have adapted to the rules and way of life of Western society. We must support these democrats.

These days as we see Belgium tearing apart between Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia reminds us how fragile a nation is when it's no more welded by a shared identity. In the heart of Europe, this country could well explode because two communities, however born of the same Christian culture, don't feel interdependent anymore.

That's why a country like France must consolidate the national feeling which is essential to its unity, while immigration upsets its demography. The greater Paris (Ile-de-France) accounts for 19% of French population and contributes for 43% of the population's growing, just because of the fecundity of African or North African immigration. Will France always be able to inspire this overly Muslim population with its Western values? It's only possible through fighting the pressure of radical Islam.

(Based on an article by Ivan Rioufol, editor of "Le Figaro" and Senior Fellow at the Atlantis Institute)