Who Bombed Bali?

The Bali bombing has almost been eclipsed in U.S. news by the D.C.-area sniper terrorist, who remains at large. But this new large-scale terrorist slaughter deserves our attention, not just because of the horrible loss of life, but because it suggests some very disturbing things about the future scope of global Islamic terrorism.

Indonesian officials have been jumping through rings to suggest that Al Qaeda had a role in the attack. From their point of view, that's very important: The Indonesian government is much better off depicting itself as prey to an international organization than admitting to a victory by home-grown terrorists. Meanwhile, a local group, Jemaah Islamiah, seems the most likely culprit but denies its involvement.

Does it really matter whether Al Qaeda was involved or not? Whether it was local or organized and funded from afar, the bombing screams the same fact about Islamic terrorism: This isn't merely about Israel or U.S. soldiers in Saudi Arabia. The Bali bombing bolsters what many have argued, and a few (myself among them) have been extremely hesitant to accept: The extremist jihad, fought by Al Qaeda and a growing roster of others, is a war against the West and all it stands for—most particularly: the secular state, pluralism, and the right to choose your pleasure.

Suppose the attack was local, the work of Jemaah Islamiah, which seeks to create a pan-Muslim state among Southeast Asian nations. A first step toward that goal is destabilizing Megawati Sukarnoputri's secular government. But equally important is ejecting the sinful infidel tourists, who drink, flash thigh, and tempt Indonesians by example. Taken a step further, the goal is a total exclusion of infidels from the Muslim world.

Or consider the idea that Al Qaeda was involved. If that's the case, any argument that the group's grievances were specific—i.e., intended to retaliate for U.S. foreign policy—is gone. Bombing a Bali nightclub doesn't target Americans; it targets Australians, who dominate tourism on the island. And again, it targets young people indulging in the worst of sins: drunken, sexy fun. That's the reality of Islamic extremism, and no change to U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East is likely to resolve it.