Well, setting up that kind of conflict has been what the game plan of Al Qaida has been from the start.

So far it's been remarkably successful, thanks largely to the helpful rhetoric of George Bush - remember that great quote he gave at a crucial point about this being a "crusade". And there's that fundamentalist bigot General William Boykin.

It almost seems as if they must have set out to try and force together into alliance different traditions within the Islamic world who have been deeply opposed to each other.

If it comes to that, I doubt very much if the Americans have the appetite for a conflict that could last for generations. A retreat into isolation and a Fortress America seems much more likely, sooner or later.