We cause terrorism

I was rummaging through old papers and I found a letter I had written to The Bee on Oct. 18, 2001. It was never printed but is as germane today as then, so here goes again:

“About a year ago, The Bee ran an open letter from Mikhail Gorbachev that he had written to The Washington Post and our president advising that the United States could not continue policies to maintain the tremendous material advantages we enjoy compared to much of the world because it would push some people to terrorism. We haven’t heeded his advice and the terrorism is here, as predicted.

“As his hypothesis has proven to be correct, it bears reconsideration. Think about it. It is time for drastic foreign-policy change.”

Now, 14 years later, it is not too late to admit we have been, and are, the root cause of terrorism. Think Bernie Sanders.

This story was originally published May 20, 2015 at 11:00 AM with the headline "We cause terrorism."