The first lesson of war is to know your enemy. In the global war on terrorism, the enemy is different — from different countries, for different reasons. In Northern Ireland, terrorism is Protestant versus Catholic; in Azerbaijan it’s Armenian versus Azeris; in Spain, it’s Basque versus Spanish. Terrorism against the United States is mostly Islamic, but the United States is not in an Islamic war.

I have just traveled peacefully through the Islamic millions of Western China; I walked the streets of Islamic Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan and Morocco without fear or threat. One begins to understand terror as a weapon of war, not a war unto itself.

The enemy is not the enemy because of U.S. values and freedom. It’s because of U.S. policy in the Mideast. True, madrassah schools of Islam teach that the United States is the infidel. But Osama bin Laden’s objection to us is the U.S. occupation of Saudi Arabia, “the plunder of Mideast oil” and our support of Israel against the Palestinians.

The enemy is not just a bunch of crazed terrorists. Much more. For 40 years we have ignored the camps of insurgents scattered over the Muslim world training against the Western world’s policy in Israel and the Mideast. While al Qaeda is estimated to be 20,000 strong, these camps have turned out at least 100,000 insurgents who return home to train others. Now with Al-Jazeera TV stirring the pot and the Internet spreading insurgency, the enemy can count on millions.

We look upon the leader of the Mideast enemy, Osama bin Laden, as a bloodthirsty mass murderer. But, he is the quiet, calm, calculating leader of Muslim millions. In Pakistan, where we are trying to find him, a decided majority of Pakistanis looks upon him as a Robin Hood. He’s wildly popular throughout the Mideast; streets in Kuwait named after former President George H.W. Bush have now been changed to Osama Boulevard; babies are named Osama rather than Mohammad.

Bin Laden is mostly admired for his sacrifices. Rich as any of the emirs, he opts to train with the fighters, live in the camps and fund the effort. The eye-opener of the 9/11 commission report is that once Osama is eliminated, there are many others to take his place.

Finally, while we believe in separation of church and state, the Islamic belief is that the church is fundamentally the state. To force-feed democracy in an Islamic country is against the religion. The terrorists or insurgents are not in uniform, but they consider themselves front-line soldiers in a holy war.

Bin Laden charges that the United States has launched a modern-day crusade to conquer the Islamic world. As we already occupy the Sinai, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the Persian Gulf, our invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan substantiates his charge.

Now we know why we weren’t met with sweets and flowers in Iraq. Now we know about the failure to establish security, permitting 400,000 Republican Guards to blend back into the country with arms. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s statement that this was not to be an Islamic democracy was only a challenge to the insurgents.

Rallying to Baghdad, joining with Saddam’s army, they have us bogged down in an urban guerilla war that former President George H.W. Bush warned against.

Not understanding the enemy, we are in a soup. Instead of eliminating terrorism, we have increased and spread it. The law enforcement strategy of “bringing them to justice one by one” is ridiculous. We are truly in a battle for the hearts and minds. You can’t kill an idea with a sword.

Policy changes are in order. First, we need to renounce the policy of democratizing the Mideast to secure Israel. Next, we must save Israel from Ariel Sharon. Our commitment to Israel is solid, but not blind. Sharon’s strategy of vanquishing the Palestinians militarily is futile. As Levi Eschol told Gen. Sharon in the Six-Day War, “The Arabs will still be here.”

We know Arafat can’t say “yes,” but our problem is that we have a president and Congress that can’t say “no.” Last year, members of the Israeli armed forces said “no” to Sharon. Now the Supreme Court of Israel has said “no” to settlements on the West Bank. Now the deputy prime minister of Israel has said “no” to settlements on the West Bank and “no” to Israel’s need for the Golan Heights.

The people of Israel are yearning for help from the people of the United States. To Sharon’s announced plan for 1,500 more settlements in the West Bank, our government must say “no.” We need to return to negotiations based on the Oslo Agreement.

Failing to know the enemy, we fail to know ourselves — the limits of our strength. In the terrorism war, the United States is not a superpower. Our strength lies not in nuclear weapons or technology, but in our stand for individual rights and freedom, our reputation for rebuilding after victory.

We defeated Germany and Japan and promptly rebuilt them. Now, after committing generations of Palestinians to refugee camps for 37 years, homes are still being bulldozed. And we wonder why they hate us.

Mr. Hollings is South Carolina’s senior senator.