The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11

A thought provoking book, less inflammatory than its cover might suggest. D'Souza, who has become a serious politics-and-religion intellectual, makes a case that many conservatives will find surprising but that bears consideration: that radical Muslims hate primarily, not Christianity or American democracy, but the decadence spread around the world by America's cultural left - pornography, homosexuality, abortion, atheism, feminism and sex-obsessed pop culture. Muslims, says D'Souza, see this being forced upon their traditional, non-Western societies where the vast majority of people regard it as harmful, weakening the family - in any poor society an individual's greatest bulwark. Radical Muslims are joined in this, he argues, by traditional Muslims, who differ with the radicals not in their religious purity, but in whether violence is a legitimate means to their end. Meanwhile, he said, radical Muslims such as Bin Laden have formed a tacit, unlikely alliance with the American left, both seeking Bush's defeat as their primary goal. Bush, meanwhile, has taken the wrong tack in the war, says D'Souza, representing it as the promotion of liberal values in the Middle East. This further alienates vast portions of the societies he seeks to win over. D'Souza finds it ironic that Bush and American conservatives are willing to fight to combat illiberalism in the Middle East, while liberals themselves are not. To win the war on terror, he says, religious conservatives ought to ally themselves with traditional Muslims, making it clear that they, too, deplore the decadence spread by American pop culture and left-wing advocacy groups. This would help us regain credibility, he says, with religious and traditional people throughout the world who don't want American freedom that translates largely to license. This, to some extent, has already happened - D'Souza copyright this book in 2007 and I'm guessing he wrote most of it before the 2006 Congressional elections - because the surge's success has been built largely on just such a strategy: allying with the traditional religious and clan leaders in Iraq, and thus splitting them away from the radicals. D'Souza's account of how, say, his mother - an Indian Christian living in Mumbai - despises the American popular culture she sees on television, will be familiar and believable to many with relatives outside the West. He is at his best citing numerous Muslim sources to prove his point.

Normally I wouldn't read a book like this, but having a bunch of reviewers advising against reading it sent me looking for a copy. I just finished an audio version borrowed from the library and have to thank all the negative reviewers! Great job slamming a good read! D'Souza must have touched some truths to generate such bitterness and distortions. I'll be buying a hard copy of the book for a reference.

This is truly a unique book in that it exposes the rotteness of our society. It is an honest and clearly written page turner with so much information that I'll need to read it again after I finish. He really has done his homework, and shows it in the way that he understands where people are coming from on all sides. I really appreciate how he explains Muslim culture, values, morals, and (perspectives on the West). For instance, why is their view on homosexual behavior as equally repulsive to them as ours is of polygamy? He probes deeper into many extensive and underlying reasons as to why terrorists do what they do. I never really thought that the standard answers of why terrorists attack the West as being all that believable in themselves. The issues are much more encompassing and subjective. I also acknowledge his portrait of Liberals (I was one). There comes a point when you have to say enough is enough. The big question of why the world hates us is really a two part question. Yes, many hate our politics but many more hate our seemingly anilmalistic behavior which is portrayed by the leftist media. Does the US/West have a conscience anymore? Barely.

This book is excellent for those who are interested in an indepth, fact based analysis of the war and the errors, on both sides of the aisle, in conducting the war. It is a worthwhile read for all mainstream Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike. It appears the last reviewer missed the entire point of this book - it is not an indictment of the Democrats alone (D'souza clearly distinguishes between the far left and the Democrats) and does not leave conservatives without blame. The best aspect of this book is the call to US citizens to understand that the cultural far left (those in congress, media and politcal action groups) fear Bush more than bin Laden and is working actively against Bush to ensure U.S. failure in Iraq. D'Souza lays out a compelling case about why and how the goals of the cultural left align with those of radical muslims. This book also highlights the fact that the majority of the world views the United States as a nation in moral decline. Traditional muslims, (in contrast to radical muslims) who share many of the same value systems as the Jewish and Christian faith, are frustrated with United States apparent departure from our Judeo Christian roots. Unfortunately, they see Hollywood as the face of America and believe this amoral pop culture is being forced on their lives and belief systems in the name of "progress". In summary, this book requires many of us to tune out the media sound bites and take a good, hard look at what the far left is doing specifically to undermine the war, what the conservative base is failing to do to combat this enemy at home and appeal to the traditional muslims around the world, and for all of us to understand the importance of ensuring that Iraq is a success - for the security of this nation and the success of a muslim-based, peaceful democracy in the middle east.

This book is extremely well written. D'Souza makes a strong case that radical Muslims hate America not for our economic imperialism, but because of our "cultural imperialism". In his view, our nation's numerous liberal leaders are perceived by other more traditional cultures as not being content to spread abortion, homosexuality and pornography to every corner of our own country-they also want to spread it to every corner of the globe by using the UN, NGO's and our military. The traditional religions of the world (like Islam) take great offense to this for obvious reasons. I'm not sure how long Mr. D'Souza has lived in the U.S., but I feel that he has an incredibly accurate perspective on our "culture war": liberal vs. conservative, blue vs. red, and atheism vs. religion. He didn't convince me on all of the points that he tried to make, but he suceeded on the vast majority. He's equally hard on the radical Muslims, pointing out their own inconsistencies, hypocrisies and questionable morals. D'Souza also makes a great case for how the Clinton Administration sowed the seeds for the 9/11 attack. His book is a unique look at the current conflict in the Middle East and its origins. His ideas suggest that this conflict won't be resolved as long as foriegners perceive our society as a group of aggressive, godless liberals in search of unlimited personal freedoms.