Hook, line and sinker

Re: “The root of Islamist terrorism”, ( BP, June 1).

Gwynne Dyer is exactly correct in pointing out a reality that many Western leaders don’t want to admit. The west fell — hook, line, and sinker — for the trap that Osama bin Laden laid for them with the Sept 11 attacks. The irony is that bin Laden advertised to the world that his strategy was to suck the West into invading Middle Eastern Muslim countries as a way of draining Western resources and turning Muslims against the invaders. Unfortunately, Western leaders failed to avoid the trap. After more than a decade, trillions of dollars in expended resources, and tens of thousands of dead, the West is mired deeper than ever in its “war on terrorism”.

Bin Laden may be dead and gone, but his strategy has proven highly effective.

SAMANEA SAMAN