No it doesn't "all come down to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank." It actually comes down to the original misguided Zionist campaign, starting in 1897, to set up an exclusive apartheid Jewish state in someone else's country. Nothing good could ever come from this, as we now see so clearly. As for all those awful Muslim dictators, so many were in fact imposed and supported to the hilt by the USA, those lovers of freedom and democracy except when it comes to oil. The dreaded Saudi regime is a case in point. And the rise and rise of Islamic militancy is an understandable reaction to endless meddling in the region, including support for Israel's land grabs. For instance, would the mullahs have gained power in Iran so easily if, way back in the 1950s, the CIA and MI5 had not replaced the democratically elected Mossadegh with the compliant Pahlevis in that cheap coup. And then taught the Shah how to torture his subjects. Meanwhile the freedom loving Brits kept tinpot dictatorships going in places like Jordan and Oman, putting down any unfortunate movements towards democracy and justice there as well. And wasn't Saddam Hussein himself helped by the West in various ways? As someone in the State department once said, "he's a bastard but he's our bastard." In short, if the Arab/Muslim world is becoming a tad uncivil and anti-Western, what's to be surprised about ?

I notice that kang has just posted. Is there a kodos out there as well?

Just add to what Kang has already said, If the west wants to support the middle east then they must stop supporting the middle eastern Governments. The 911 terrorist didn't come from Iran they come from Saudi Arabia. As for the Jewish sate of Israel well that say's it all really as long as it is a Jewish state propped up by Jews around the world, and not a secular one. Then the Arab dictators have some to deflect their anger of its people somewhere. Yes they do do that but that doesn't mean there is any grounds for that anger.

After reading "Kang" I thought I had to post just anything to refute his idiocy. I mean it would be one thing if it represented an opinion but, to cobble together random bits of anti-Jewish rhetoric, and present it as rational thought, well, like the man said, "you can't fix stupid."
Anybody want to jump in with some actual history of the M.E. Apparently Kang thinks Israel was created inspite of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. Can we post a map of the M.E. circa 1946.

Kang:

Thank you for proving my point. According to you, it's all the fault of someone else - either A) the Zionists and their "misguided campaign" that began in 1897; or B) those evil Western imperialists and their Middle East meddling. You reliably trot out the old "understandable reaction" excuse.

Heaven forbid that the Arabs should come to terms with their responsibility for the mess that is the Islamic Middle East. It is so much more convenient to blame the other. This sort of cultural immaturity poses a far greater impediment to progress in the Arab world than anything Israel, the US or the UK have done.

And by the way, Kang, the upshot of your comment is that you oppose the right of the Jewish people to national self-determination in their ancestral homeland.

It's funny that you say "nothing good could ever come from this [Zionism]. I would have thought that a big humanitarian such as yourself would appreciate the fact that the Jews have managed to create the only nation in the Middle East that consistently features freedom of the press, freedom of speech and government rule by the authority of the ballot rather than the bullet.

In fact, until the free elections in Iraq and Lebanon in recent years, the only Middle East Arabs who were the beneficiaries of democratic rights were those who are lucky enough to be Israeli citizens.

But then, you seem to think that democracy isn't such an important thing, after all.

Good article.

While I can understand the anger at Western meddling, the author is right in saying the majority of their woes are home grown, and they need to look inward more than outward to sort out the regions issues.

The fact is these tribes were doing a stellar job of killing each other well before there was any western influence or Israel, and I dare say they'll keep on with it regardless of Israel's existence, or the west. Look at Palestine and Iraq. These people will never truly unite, since they hate each other as much as the west or Israel.
Would the Sunni & Shiite militias really stop the mayhem if the Allies pulled out? Of course not, but the death toll along with everything else there is somehow the fault of the Coalition. The reality is responsibility for the vast number of deaths can placed squarely on the shoulders of... you guessed it, other Muslims.
The coalition doesn't detonate car bombs in busy markets, killing & maiming hundreds in one hit.

It seems to be a common thread within Islam, whereby they never take responsibility for their own actions, and blame everything on some outside group, ask that group for help, then blame them when they fail to sort out their mess for them, starting the cycle again.
Many of those who live here engage in the same rubbish at the local level, always crying racism or discrimination at the drop of a hat. A bit rich when one considers how multi-cultural Australia is.

Imagine if Western people & governments went on with this kind of blame shifting & hatred, rather than working together to sort out their domestic problems. How many Hitler types would have come to power by now through the frustrations of the populace?
World War III would have come and gone many years ago, and maybe even WWIV, and that's if we didn't blow the world up in the process, but hey we haven't since we are for the most part reasonable HUMAN BEINGS.