Thomas P.M. Barnett

ìAbu Ghraib as Symbol,î by Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post, 7 May, p. A33.

One issue I raise in the book [pp. 135-36] is that what traditional societiesóespecially Muslim-dominated onesófear most about globalization penetrating their insular worlds is not the notion of democracy that accompanies it, but the very American images of sexual liberation and gender equality. In short, itís a clash of gendersóstupid!

That is what makes the pictures coming out of the Iraqi prisoner-abuse scandal so damaging, although I for one feel most politicians and media people are hyping the event unnecessarily by describing it as setting back U.S.-Islamic relations ìseveral decades.î Frankly, it takes something like genocide to set relations back ìseveral decades.î This scandal is bad, alright, confirming the worst fears of those in the Islamic world who believe that letting globalization in will mean the rapid Americanization of their culture.

Hereís what Charles Krauthammer has to say on the issue, which echoes my analysis in the book on how womenóon averageófair very badly inside the Gap:

ìFor the jihadists, at stake in the war against the infidels is the control of women. Western freedom means the end of womenís mastery by men, and the end of dictatorial clerical control over all aspects of sexualityóin dress, behavior, education, the arts.

Taliban rule in Afghanistan was the model of what the jihadists want to impose upon the world. The case the jihadists make against freedom is that wherever it goes, especially the United States and Europe, it brings sexual license and corruption, decadence and depravity.

The appeal of this fear can be seen in the Arab worldís closest encounter with modernity: Israel. Israeli women are by far the most liberated of any in that part of the world. For decades, the Arab press has responded with lurid stories of Israeli sexual corruption.î

That underlying reality marks the essential asymmetry in this global war on terrorism: for us itís all about security leading to economic integration and freedom, but to them it is all about connectivity leading to chaos and sexual depravity. This clash of genders will define much of the grand historical process of the Coreís integration of Gap societies, not all of whom will be Muslim-dominated, but all of whom will be male-dominated.

Thatís why I distinguish the Leviathan military as your fatherís military and the Sys Admin force as your motherís military: one to kill the males standing in the way and the other to welcome the women longing to escape.