Editor, The Times:
As reluctant as I am to back anything that Stephen Harper does, there is a case for Canada to help with the destruction of ISIS – ISIL.
Just as with World War II when we allied ourselves with one jovial old monster, Joseph Stalin, to defeat Adolph Hitler this all may be necessary. Realpolitik at its best, one might say.
However, as Peter Oborne of the London Daily Telegraph points out, there is a very large dragonfly in the ointment – Saudi Wahhabism (“Saudi Arabia's export of radical Islam is key problem”, Vancouver Sun, Sept. 26, 2014).
As Peter Oborne states, Bin Laden and 9-11 and Baghdadi and his Islamic State are creation of Saudi Arabia.
This is not some mutation of Islam. It is all too faithful to the literalist Saudi interpretation of Sunni Islam — the Wahhabi version. In other words, Barak Obama is wrong about this. However, so is everyone else, including Canada.
Twelve months ago Obama and David Cameron were all for bombing Assad's Syria.
Now, in the spirit of World War II Stalin on our side approach, they are talking to Assad (note here – as Robert Fisk pointed out several years ago, the Syrian opposition did not have enough support to topple Assad, plus having seen what happened to Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi, Assad had no reason to give in.
However Saudi Arabia faces no such opposition. We all know, or should know, the Saudis close relationships with the United States, especially the Bush family (remember Bandar Bush?
If you don't, watch Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9-11).
Not only that, Canada has recently sold Saudi Arabia some military equipment.
To quote Peter Oborne again, successive government (British, American and Canadian) have refused to recognize the link between ISIS and Saudi Arabia.
The Saudis now fear their own creation so much that they're actually supplying aircraft to the U.S.-led airstrikes against ISIS.
However, as Peter Oborne points out, until this present coalition of the willing recognizes Saudi Arabia as the worthless ally that it really is — a lot of sand along with a few ISIS militants will get blown into the air and little else.
No matter what Canada or anyone else does.
Dennis Peacock
Clearwater, B.C.