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Article: The American Mongols: to win the war against terrorism, the United States must overcome the burden of history. (Argument).
- Article from:
- Foreign Policy
- Article date:
- May 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Baghdad is under siege--again. The last time infidels conquered the City of Peace was in 1258, when the Mongol horde, led by Genghis Khan's grandson Hulegu, defeated the Arab Abbasid caliphate that had ruled for more than five centuries. And if the ripple effects of that episode through Islam's history are any guide, the latest invasion of Iraq will unleash a new cycle of hatred--unless the United States can find ways to bolster the credibility of moderate Islamic thinkers.
Saddam Hussein, leader of Iraq's Baathist socialist regime for nearly 25 years, is no caliph. The U.S. military came as self-declared liberators, not as conquerors. Yet the U.S. occupation of ...