Rejecting what the author sees as the false dichotomy of the title, this political and historical analysis traces the roots of political Islam to the Reagan years, when the US supported some insurgency movements in its proxy wars against the Soviet Union. This had the combined effect of strengthening our soon-to-be enemies, and causing greater distrust of the US around the world. The author, a political scientist and anthropologist, advises that, rather than focusing on terrorism alone, America needs a more sophisticated understanding of nationalist movements. Only then, he argues, will its policies and strategies change and its position in the world improve.