Has the US and Israel Exacerbated Islamic Terrorism?

“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” Matthew 18:6

Christians are being persecuted in Syria. No, it is worse, they are being massacred:

“Christians and other religious minorities have been massacred in Syria as violence erupts following the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad three months ago.

More than 1,000 people have been killed since Thursday in what observers describe as the worst violence since Assad’s downfall in December.

The killings have targeted Alawites, Christians and other minorities in Syria’s coastal regions.

The violence began with an ambush on a Syrian security patrol by gunmen loyal to ousted leader Assad near the port city of Latakia.[1]

This violence on behalf of Islamic Jihadists is rightly making many Christians angry. Christians have long been persecuted in the Middle East. The way the Ottoman Empire kidnapped the best children of the Christian families and turned them into warriors for the Islamic Emperors is infamous. From the moment that Islam broke out of Arabia onto the World stage, it has gone to war with Christians beginning with the Eastern Roman Empire, and has often since targeted those who professed Jesus as Lord. This is a conflict that has gone on for centuries.

So, I agree with all the Christians and other Westerners 100% that we need to fight Islamic terrorism. We just should not be fighting it how we have been doing it, because we are making it far worse.

In this series, I have previously written about how America’s alliance with Israel has stoked up constant war in the Middle East. These two countries have egged each other on into conflict after conflict. I even mentioned in my previous post in this series how the Christians in Syria will suffer the most from the US and Israeli success in toppling Assad’s region. But this bears more attention, because America, the West, and especially Christian Zionists, bear great responsibility for how terribly the war on terror has gone, and how this has adversely affected our fellow believers in the Middle East, and spread increased terrorism to the West.

For instance, the claim is often made about Islamic terrorism that we need to fight them there (in the Middle East) so that we do not have to fight them here (in the West). But are you aware that every time the US and Israel go to war with a Muslim country, this sends an influx of mass Islamic immigration into the West?

For instance, many Westerners are aware that in 2015 there was an influx of over 1 million people from the Middle East, and North Africa into Europe. Many Christians at the time, I remember, I was among them, were calling for European nations to stop this influx into the West. Many Westerners were correctly tolling the bell and warning about the disasters this would bring to Europe. All you need do is look at the tragedies that happen in German Christmas markets every year, where cars are often used as weapons, and the plethora of other issues that this has brought into Europe to recognise the people warning about this was right.

But many people calling for this influx to stop refused and still often today refuse, to recognise that it was US and Israeli military campaigns in the Middle East that caused this mass Exodus,

“The conflict in Syria continues to be by far the biggest driver of migration. But the ongoing violence in Afghanistan and Iraq, abuses in Eritrea, as well as poverty in Kosovo, are also leading people to look for new lives elsewhere…

…Although not all of those arriving in Europe choose to claim asylum, many do. Germany received the highest number of new asylum applications in 2015, with more than 476,000.

But far more people have arrived in the country – German officials said more than a million had been counted in Germany’s “EASY” system for counting and distributing people before they make asylum claims.”[2]

How many people remember that there was mass pressure from the public and media at the time to arm the rebels to “fight for democracy” in this Syrian conflict?

“Because of the uprising, Syria was in the news. But despite the changes within the country, Syria still wasn’t vital to the strategic interests of the US. For that reason it remained a low priority for administration officials.

When the Assad regime started to falter in 2012, Ford believed the US should get involved in the conflict by supporting the rebels. Otherwise Syria could slide into anarchy and become “another Somalia/Yemen”, he said, using state department code for Failed State.

Virtually everyone in the US, including Obama, wanted to support the opposition in Syria.”[3]

Even Tony Abbott had warned us in 2013 that the situation in Syria was baddies versus baddies, and warned about getting involved.[4] This BBC article above actually questions how effective the US support of the Syrian rebels was, and argues it was largely an ineffective failure. But the history does not end there, Biden settled the question of whether the US and Israel were involved in the toppling of Assad in 2024,

“After Syrian opposition forces led an offensive that rapidly swept through Syria’s major cities in a matter of weeks and ultimately led to the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government, US President Joe Biden publicly took credit for the rebel takeover.

“Our approach has shifted the balance of power in the Middle East,” Biden said earlier this week.

“Through this combination of support for our partners, sanctions, and diplomacy and targeted military force when necessary, we now see new opportunities opening up for the people of Syria and for the entire region.”

Biden’s comments, as well as a deluge of commentary claiming that Washington – and Israel – were secretly behind the offensive, have caused questions to resurface about the US’s role in Syria over the past decade and a half.[5]

In fact, the US spent one billion dollars training Syrian rebels under an operation called “Timber Sycamore.”[6] The US, as the article notes, was not able to control these rebels, but it sure did unleash them, however, not until after it had trained and equipped them.

So, to talk about Islamic terrorist attacks committed by some of those over a million people who fled into Europe, or even the ones committed in Syria against Christians recently, without discussing the admitted and open acknowledgement of the US and Israel in interfering in Syria, is not the full story. Israel and the US have been interfering in the Middle East and training radicals under the label of “freedom fighters” or “radicals” for decades. “Operation Cyclone” was a previous example where the US-trained and equipped the Afghan Mujahedeen from 1979 to 1992.[7] This is mainstream, well understood, history and it has had incredibly negative blowback effects.

Continued US presence in the Middle East is a danger to Western nations. Again, and again, these conflicts stir up the Middle East, and drive people out of the Middle East and it is only the West that will take these “refugees” that flow out of war-torn countries. The Neo-Cons and the leadership of Israel know this and apparently do not care. Even now, the Australian Prime Minister has increased the annual refugee intake to 20,000 a year, and look where the majority of these refugees come from, “About two-thirds of all refugees come from five countries: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Syria, South Sudan and Somalia.”[8] Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan and Somalia, four places the West has been at war with, are among the top countries for refugee intakes. These refugee crises are manufactured by American imperial forever wars.

I know many people on the Christian right who would agree we should not be bringing more Islamic refugees here. But many such people refuse to acknowledge how our forever wars create the very situation that drives these people out of their countries. The West is forced to take the aggrieved immigrants, who are angry in large numbers at the West. This is foolishness at every end. We should be leaving these countries alone and leaving these people in their own countries.

I should note that Netanyahu also took credit for handing Syria over to the radical Islamists publicly.[9] Even many Christians were celebrating it with him last year. This is no accident. This has been part of his plan to destabilize the Middle East since the 90s as we discussed in an earlier piece.

“This prediction also gives us a window through which to explain America’s disastrous 20^th and early 21^st century Middle Eastern foreign policy. America has lurched from defeat to defeat in the region, with the exception of the first Iraq war[9], largely because its Middle Eastern policy has been Israeli centric and irrational.

Jeffrey Sachs, economist, public policy analyst, former Harvard and current Columbia University professor, notes,

“For 30 years the Israel Lobby has induced the U.S. to fight wars on Israel’s behalf designed to prevent the emergence of a Palestinian State. Netanyahu, who first came to power in 1996, and has been prime minister for 17 years since then, has been the main cheerleader for U.S.-backed wars in the Middle East. The result has been a disaster for the U.S. and a bloody catastrophe not only for the Palestinian people but for the entire Middle East.

These have not been wars to defend Israel, but rather wars to topple governments that oppose Israel’s oppression of the Palestinian people.”[10]”

As Ilan Pappe notes in his book Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic, what has been at work in the Middle East for decades behind these wars is an unrighteous alliance, “The unholy trinity of Christian Zionism, neo-conservatism and American Jewish lobbying still had an immense impact on legislation, elections and policies concerning Israel and Palestine.”[10] But the impact of this alliance goes far beyond just Palestine and Israel, as Pappe also notes,

“The Israeli government, neo-cons and Christian Zionists, all of whom AIPAC closely collaborated with, helped make the invasion of Iraq possible and must be held responsible for the catastrophes that followed: civil war, state collapse, the rise of Islamic State and the ongoing refugee crisis.”[11]

“…and must be held responsible…” for what? For “…civil war, state collapse, the rise of Islamic state and the ongoing refugee crisis…” Scholars who pay attention to what is happening in the Middle East are fully aware of how American and Israeli military actions have destabilized the region. Attacks against Christians are part of these ongoing flow-on effects, as are the attacks done by those driven out of the region.

Biden took credit for the toppling of Assad. So did Netanyahu. Both did it publicly not secretly. Both Netanyahu and the American Israel lobby, which is made up of both Jewish Zionists and Christian Zionists openly advocated for these wars, as did the leadership of Israel. In fact, Christian Zionists added an eschatological edge to these wars,

“For the hard core Christian Zionists, Operation Shock and Awe, the Anglo-American assault on Iraq in April 2003, looked like a scene out of their own doomsday scenarios. This was the wrath of the Hebrew God that was joyously received by Christian Zionists as well as messianic Jews in Israel, who uncovered a theological basis for the dubious links between Islam, terror and Palestine. The old bestseller Scofield’s Bible was revived and offered a contemporary fundamentalist reading of Old and New Testaments – interpreted to command support for Israel as a literal article of faith.”[12]

During this war, many Christian leaders began to interpret the end times texts in light of a war between America and Islam, as Pappe notes. I personally remember going to conferences and hearing such teaching. I am also old enough to remember when these same sorts of teachers said it was the Soviet Union who was the main enemy. However I am only just old enough, and only because I am aware of some of their older books on the issue. Pappe even notes that the Christian Zionists went so far as making video games to encourage young people to join the war against Islam and to teach this theology that standing with Israel, militarily and otherwise, is necessary to be faithful to God’s call for believers.[13]

It is neither honest nor wise to divorcethe discussion of these ongoing terror threats from the military actions of the US and Israel in fighting against these Middle Eastern countries. Nor should we divorce it from the Christian Zionists calling for more war. Yes, Islamic terrorism is terrible. But if the Assad regime had not been up against continued threats from rebels trained and equipped by Western forces, plus, according to Biden, direct attacks from the US at times, and according to Trump the seizure of their oil which is a major Syrian resource[14], then these radical Islamist groups would not have had the power to be persecuting the Christians in Syria right now. There is a causal chain here, to ignore it is not an accurate analysis, it is deception.

These wars have caused incredible tragedies. For instance, Christianity has declined massively in the Middle East because of the wars there. In Iraq, as of 2024, the Christian population is one-fifth of what it was in 2003 because of the wars and ongoing persecution,

“Iraq’s Christian population has drastically declined due to years of war and persecution. From over 1.5 million in 2003, the number of Christians in Iraq has dwindled to less than 300,000 today. Indigenous Christians, such as the Assyrians, have suffered immensely, their communities uprooted, and their ancient churches desecrated.”[15]

The persecution of Christians did not begin with these wars, but it did escalate it. Even if – and you can’t honestly argue this – even if you said the US and Israel had good intentions, their strategy to defeat evil in the Middle East has failed. They have escalated it, incredibly. And they continue to do so. Christians who advocate for more military intervention in the Middle East advocate for more of the same bad actions. The more Israel and the US bomb the Middle East, the more Christians are persecuted.

And as I have already noted, these wars, have also caused a massive exodus of Muslims into the West. Many of these Muslims have grievances, and many have done terrorist attacks, especially in Europe. In fact, when you recognise this cycle, you can’t unsee it:

So, I agree 100% that we need to fight Islamic terrorism, but not how we have been. We’ve been making it worse. We should change how we fight it.

Firstly, we should withdraw all military personnel from the Middle East and bring them back home where we can police our own borders. Every Western country has a problem with too many people coming in. One of the historical roles of the military is to police a nation’s, or people’s borders, when did this stop being their role? I think it stopped when we got an elite who decided they did not really believe in borders. An elite who believes the military exists to fight foreign wars. It is evil.

We should have incredibly strong militaries that police our own borders and are ready to fight Islamic invasions or invasions from anyone else. No one here is calling for pacifism. The US’s border is a mess. Our border feels like it is effectively open by design. The largest number of new homes being bought in new suburbs in Australia are from people overseas.[16][17] and this is during a homelessness crisis where many Australians can’t afford to buy a home. We should be dialling down immigration massively, and every Western country should have strong militaries to protect their nations from invasion. Why is this so complicated?

Secondly, from a Biblical perspective, we are also causing Israel to sin by fighting for it, anyway, rather than pointing Israelis to trust in Jesus, the Lord God. As Isaiah said, “1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord!” (Isa. 31:1).

So many Christian Zionists say they take the Bible literally, but then ignore what it literally says on a host of topics. Israel was commanded many times by God never to trust or ally with other nations, but only look to God. Is not Jesus God? As long as Israel has the US and others fighting for it, we are creating a reason they don’t need to call on Jesus. We are causing them to sin. This needs to stop.

Thirdly, a lot of people need to go back. We have police agencies that can tackle terrorism locally, but why do we keep making their job harder by creating more problems for them with a continual stream of massive numbers of people? Firstly, we should stop bringing in more people from troubled areas, and we should send back those we can.

So, yes, we need to fight Islamic terrorism, but not how we have been. We need to work much smarter. And we need to stop stirring up the hornets’ nest of the Middle East and bringing them here.

But now you ask, how does this fit with the theme of previous articles about how America is not blessed by standing with Israel? That is simple, Jesus said,

“6 But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!” (Matt. 18:6-7).

How much has sin increased because of these wars? Particularly, how many people have been turned off the gospel, because America is seen as a Christian country, but acts in an antichrist way? American and Israeli wars have done more damage to the witness of the gospel in the Middle East than anything else I can think of in history. This has caused great stumbling. No one who causes so many to stumble can claim to be blessed. It is that simple.

You can read more from Matthew Littlefield here.

[1] George Bunn, 2025, https://www.gbnews.com/news/world/syria-news-christians-massacred-jihadist-launches-killing-spree

[2] BBC, 2016, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34131911

[3] BBC, 2015, https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33997408

[4] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-02/abbott-seeks-to-explain-baddies-v-baddies-comment/4929118

[5] Emma Griffiths 2013, https://www.middleeasteye.net/explainers/did-us-fund-syrian-rebels-toppled-assad

[6] MEE staff, 2024, https://www.middleeasteye.net/explainers/did-us-fund-syrian-rebels-toppled-assad

[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Cyclone

[8] Miriah Davis, 2023, https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/albanese-government-increases-humanitarian-intake-with-2000-more-refugees-to-be-settled-in-australia-per-year/news-story/e2fa5ef305fc6a636570f81ac26b0f61

[9] Lazar Berman (et al) 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-claims-credit-for-starting-historic-process-that-led-to-syrian-regimes-fall/

[10] Ilan Pappe, 2024, Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic, One World Publications, p.361

[11] Ilan Pappe, 2024, p.348.