On Terrorism and Its Causes

Andrew McCarthy, writing for National Review Online, offers his insights on the oft heard claim that the Guantanamo Bay prison is an enduring rallying cry for the recruitment of terrorists, and should therefore be closed.

After 17 years of attacks, we should have learned the difference between causes of terrorism and pretexts for terrorism. Terrorism is caused, and terrorist recruitment is driven, by Islamist ideology and by American weakness in the face of terror attacks. In that sense, Senator Durbin causes more terrorism than Gitmo ever will. Terrorist organizations are encouraged when they come to believe they can win — when they come to believe they can outlast America because we lack resolve.