But Trump nonetheless has an opportunity. He can, for example, make it clear that America will be a safe haven for anyone in the Muslim world facing persecution from radicals, whether they are marked as blasphemers or from minority faiths such as Coptic Christians. Trump can also align more closely with leaders like Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan to build a quiet and professional counter-terrorism capability for the region.
Trump could also use America’s influence in Iraq and Afghanistan to encourage secular and reformist politicians, instead of embracing, as both Bush and Obama did, any confessional parties that also gave lip service to opposing terrorism. He could use the bully pulpit to encourage Western civil societies to adopt newspaper editors, lawyers, human rights activists and others under threat from radicals in their own faith. Meanwhile, Trump could wind down what remains of Obama’s first term agenda to build bridges to Muslim Brotherhood parties that have shown no real interest, with the exception of Tunisia, of accepting pluralism.
There are risks in embracing an ideological war against radical Islam, as opposed to a long war against terrorists. But it has the advantage of defining conditions for victory. The long war will end when Islamic fascism is defeated and discredited. What’s more, Trump can set America on this path without engaging in the cycle of regime change and nation-building he has explicitly rejected. Not a bad plan for a guy who keeps asking why America doesn’t win anymore.
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