A Sensible Strategy for the U.S. and the Western World

The limited but significant success of the tactics and strategies being used by the ideological extremists suggests an alternative but related path for the West to follow. In effect, we can beat them at their own game by co-opting their strategy and replacing it with a more rational, hopeful, and therefore, more powerful approach:

• Ideology: If the enemy relies on the divisive Ideology of Extremism to get his message out; we will counter with the inclusive Ideology of Common Sense, one that fosters unity by weaving people together with a common thread - the thread of universal truths and values.
• Investment: If the enemy wins hearts and minds with charitable giving; we will inspire the man on the street by creating an International Fund for Economic Development in the Middle East under the banner: "We stand ready to invest in you if you are ready to invest in yourselves." (i.e. We will use public and private funds to revitalize the economies of the Middle East by developing industrial zones, creating jobs, producing green technology products, opening vocational schools, building hotels on the Gaza coast, etc.)
• Hope: If the enemy inspires hope by selling people on the idea of Islamic conquest; we will use an Ideology of Common Sense along with Economic Incentives to sell people on a Vision of Hope - A Vision of Peace, Prosperity, and Freedom- on the Arab Street, in the Muslim world, and in the world as a whole. The realistic hope for a better life will trump the false hope for extremist triumph.
• Military Campaign: If the enemy uses terror to impose his will by intimidation and force; we will position our military efforts within a Vision of Hope so as to empower Muslim moderates, so as to embolden our soldiers on the ground, and so as to inspire Americans back home with a noble vision for the future, and a sensible rationale for why we must fight, and what we are fighting for. People will fight harder once they realize that the cause is just, and is realistically calculated to bring about a fair, equitable, and long lasting peace. Our willingness to talk to one another with common sense and with a sense of personal dignity, and to invest in one another, will persuade our soldiers, our citizens, the people of the Middle East, and people around the world, to give us the benefit of the doubt, and to invest in us, with courage, patience, and resolve, for the sake of a brighter future. A Vision of Hope will give our good intentions a good measure of credibility and will convince the world that the fight on the ground is being waged with moral clarity and purpose.

The approach noted above parallels the strategy of the ideological extremists, but trumps their approach by being more ideologically sound, by making more sense, by putting more resources on the table, by giving everyone a place at the table - a stake in his or her

future - by inspiring the man on the street with a Vision of Hope instead of an Ideology of Hate, and by positioning our military efforts within a Vision of Hope, with an eye to world peace. At every turn, we will cut the extremists off at the pass, and beat them at their own game by marginalizing them in the eyes of their own people.