The problem isn't the people inherently, or the religion, as much as the situation they're in. In similarly-bad situations, other religions or cultures were used in the same way by other oppressed people.
The particularly fucked-up part of the situation is that while colonial powers and then US/USSR cold war used to be major external factors causing the horrible conditions, now it's pretty much internal -- some powerful people making other people suffer, all from (largely) the same groups. Adding energy to the system in the form of oil, other mineral, or heroin wealth keeps it self-sustaining.
Just being rich isn't going to make you better/less violent/etc. -- look at how unhappy lottery winners often are, or ghetto drug dealers, etc.
The other interesting part about Iraq and Syria's Baath parties is that they were initially quite secular; in Syria, it's mainly an ethnic thing. In Iraq, it turned into Sunni v. Shia largely due to the Iran/Iraq war, but also was relatively secular before that, in the 1970s.
Our nominal "allies" in Syria are actually fairly hardline Islamists (among others).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Middle_East
And I said, 'Arabs and Muslims'. I am aware that Afghans and Pakistanis are not Arab.
Please stop characterising multiple demographics with such simple terms. It's as meaningless as saying Americans are fat and loud, the French are smelly and arrogant, so on and so forth.
HN is a great place and as long as politics aren't involved we can usually expect an open discussion, but the minute someone says anything that differs from the standard liberal playbook on race or religion he's shoved out the door.
The ironic part is I'll probably receive downvotes for bringing this to light.
... and economics. You forgot that point :) If you happen not to agree with the Welfare State Theory and Keynesians, you are bound to get downvotes, too.
> The ironic part is I'll probably receive downvotes for bringing this to light.
Of course you won't because you made a well thought-out observation.
Contrast that to this generic, baseless statement:
> Arabs and Muslims will blow the fuck out of each other's sons and daughters without a second thought.
That is a not only a very simplistic view, it is also incorrect. It puts blame on some inherent personality trait of Arabs and "muslims". Anyone with a minuscule ability to critically think can see how this parallels statements like "black people have less intelligence". The OP is not bringing a new opinion; they are trolling.
I would be more interested in seeing a thought out analysis by the OP, that takes into account the complex geopolitical landscape of the last 100 years, including armament of these so called terrorists by the US, drone strikes that kill Afghan and Pakistani children, etc.