Given the strident denunciation of Islamist violence from Western political leaders, you would be forgiven for thinking that the threat posed by this fetid ideology has always been recognised and reviled.  

This, unfortunately, is not the case.  

In the latter half of the twentieth century, Western states routinely armed, bank-rolled and legitimated radical Islam for service in the struggle against Communism and secular nationalism.

In the 1953 overthrow of the democratically-elected Iranian government, the main allies of the American and British conspirators were the mullahs.  

Since the 1970s, the USA has given a blank cheque to the Saudi regime and its radical Wahhabi ideology in its bid to have the oil-rich kingdom on side.

It is also well-known that the CIA’s ‘Operation Cyclone’ provided immense sums of money and arms to Afghan mujahideen in their struggle against the Soviet Union.  

The combination of money, weapons and radical ideology would lead to the consolidation of groups such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

As recently as the Iraq war, US military officials were complicit in the organisation of Shiite death squads, the Sunni backlash to which has resulted in the rise of ISIS.

Time and again the lesson has been taught and not learned: the enemy of your enemy is not always your friend.

Brett Heino, Dapto

Whether world opinion of the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan were considered right or wrong, allowing Bashar al-Assad’s atrocities this past four years to continue, and now with even worse atrocities by ISIS in and around the same area this past 12 months, must surely be regretful to world leaders.

We can only hope President Obama’s suggestion to “clean the place out” will actually be accepted at long last!

Brian Johnson, Gymea

The report of a looming preselection battle for the seat of Cunningham sends chills down my spine.

When I recall reports of what went on in the preselection battle for the seat of Wollongong in the recent state election.  

Let’s hope federal Labor keeps its eye on the ball and those called on to do the  scrutineering are well versed in the parties rules.

Therese Smith, Wollongong

A parliament hearing is told that the Commonwealth Bank committed fraud when it deliberately lowered the value of loans acquired during the 2008 global financial crisis.

Loans worth more than $8.5billion.

That lowered valuations enabled the bank to foreclose on loans even though customers had had never missed a payment.

The human cost of the decision on the hundreds families  losing homes and hard earned wealth had been tragic.

The hearing was told that the hundreds of families who had lost homes and hard earned wealth were left destitute.

The tragic consequences, the hearing was told, of “this financial benefit by deception” has been enormous.

Surely this deserves a Royal Commission into the Commonwealth Bank who denies the fraud.

After all the one that dealt with the fraud in the trade unions  is peanuts compared to this one.

Reg Wilding, Wollongong