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ASIA TIMES
September 10,2014

[Re How Washington made Islamic state, September 3, 2014] Everyone needs to get real, take a deep breath and calm alarmist tendencies. The media talking heads and the "wise experts" they feature, the op-ed writers and the chattering classes all need to stop spreading myths and nonsense about Islamic State (IS).

Fact: IS is not populated by 12-foot tall, invincible people and it is not going to be in our neighborhoods tomorrow. Fact: IS is a bastardized version of Salafism (Saudi version of Islam), which, with Wahhabism, is near and dear to the hearts of the ruling monarchy and for decades, has been promoted and propagated by the Saudis across the world. Fact: IS has nothing to do with true Islam despite what the haters say. IS is anti-Islam.

Islam is a religion of peace, not backwardness and madness. Myth: IS happened because President Obama did not drop bombs all over the Middle East (as per John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Dick Cheney, etc.) It is just the opposite. The seeds of IS were sown by the Bush/Cheney Administration's two wars, and for decades nurtured by Saudi and Pakistani money. Fact: Six months ago, IS was a rag tag group of cutthroats and brigands.

It was only after the surviving remnants of Saddam's army, including former generals and colonels, joined IS that they became an effective fighting force using captured American heavy weapons that were given to the Iraqi army. In order to defeat IS and the ideological cancer they are spreading, their source of funding must be eliminated, their captured American heavy armor destroyed by precision bombing, and neighboring countries brought in for a regional response. President Obama's judicious use of wise diplomacy and American power, and his policy of not doing stupid things is the right way forward.

Fariborz S Fatemi
McLean, VA
USA (Sep 10, '1