Dysfunction in Middle-East was Transplanted There by the West

In response to letter printed in the Daily Herald: "We must continue fighting both wars"

Regarding reader Keyvan Rafii’s inflammatory comments about what he called the “violent backwardness” and “dysfunction” of the Middle East, I would like to point out that dysfunction is not native to the Middle East. In many cases, dysfunctional leadership was directly transplanted in the Middle East by the West and continues to be enabled by the United States.

The US has a history of backing and even installing murderous dictators throughout the Middle East. In Iran, the CIA and Britain overthrew a democratic government to install the dictatorial Shah in 1953. When Iran began their revolution, the US supported Saddam Hussein as an anti-Iran ally, even while he used chemical weapons on his own people. In Afghanistan in the 1980s, the US funded the mujahideen in the name of fighting communism. Yes, WE funded and supported extremism in the Middle East. And the United States has continued to back Middle Eastern countries with appalling human rights records, like Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Such offensive and inaccurate statements do not belong in the Daily Herald.