Golems of violence by Mark LeVine

In his recent surprise visit to Baghdad, British Prime Minister Tony Blair exclaimed that the battle in Iraq is "between democracy and terror". He and his friend Bush keep leaving out one-third of the true equation - empire. Iraq has become a battleground among democracy, terror and empire. And empire has always been sustained by religious chauvinism, exclusivity and the violence they breed. Unless and until imperialism and religious extremism are removed from the equation, democracy will continue to lose out to terror, in Iraq, in the United States and across the globe.