> You appear to believe that a resurgent radical Islam is primarily due to the rise of wealthy Arab states, and yet these states are aligned to the West, armed by the West, and also suppress the same radical elements you wish to neutralize domestically.
To add a touch of concreteness, according to "The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11" by Lawrence Wright (which I cannot recommend enough if you're interested in that bit of modern history), an explicit motivation of Osama bin Laden was the US's continued presence in Saudi Arabia (at the regime's express invitation). The book also contains an account of Hosni Mubarak's rather heavy handed suppression of radicals in Egypt, and how that motivated resistance (although focused on Egypt, they were co-opted by bin Laden).
In relation to recently-enriched Arab states, w1ntermute stated that: "Without that, they wouldn't have the money or power to do anything to the West". He appears to think that well-funded Arab states are directly supporting radical Islam - my response was directed at that wrong notion, because as you note those states are actively involved in suppression of radicals.
US backing of oppressive regimes in the region is certainly an injustice that fuels radicalization of citizens in those countries.
Thanks for the book recommendation, I'll have a look at it.
To add a touch of concreteness, according to "The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11" by Lawrence Wright (which I cannot recommend enough if you're interested in that bit of modern history), an explicit motivation of Osama bin Laden was the US's continued presence in Saudi Arabia (at the regime's express invitation). The book also contains an account of Hosni Mubarak's rather heavy handed suppression of radicals in Egypt, and how that motivated resistance (although focused on Egypt, they were co-opted by bin Laden).