Friedman: The Extremists

From Friedman's Times column today:

Question: What do the Shiite extremist leader Moktada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army have in common with the extremist Jewish settlers in Israel? Answer: More than you'd think. Both movements combine religious messianism, and a willingness to sacrifice their followers and others for absolutist visions, along with a certain disdain for man-made laws, as opposed to those from God. The big question in both Iraq and Israel today is also similar: Will the silent majorities in both countries finally turn against these extremist minorities to save their future?

Absolutely. But you might better factor in the religious extremists trying to run this country, too. They also factor into how the people of the Middle East will fare. Sometimes, I feel, they matter disproportionately much considering.