Dear der Spiegel;

Quit bitching about the lack of US involvement as you bang the war drum. You complained nonstop over the last 15 years about US involvement in the Middle East, and now you want America to escalate the situation because you fear Russian involvement? And yet somehow in the same article you claim the US and Russian goals are indistinguishable. The differences should be readily apparent by simply looking at the regimes the US and Russia choose to back, and with whom each country trades goods (and oil).

The US Military has forged itself into perhaps the most deadly and effective urban war machine in the history of the world. But this comes with a tremendous cost in blood and money, and an especially high cost in the lives of 'collateral damage'.

ISIS/ISIL/Daesh is at its core an ideology. The ideology spreads by either overrunning a new area, or through missionary propaganda to the outside world. Daesh already uses statements from US politicians and from US tv programs in their propaganda, and increasing the US involvement in the region will only serve to justify their extremist ideologies. Their stated goal is to fight a glorious war vs Western Civilization, which is anathema to their 8th-century CE idealism.

The best way to rid the world of this cancer is to 1) surgically cut it out where possible; 2) cut off its supply network and seize its assets wherever possible to starve it where it exists; 3) make life better for the oppressed people around the world for whom this movement would be more attractive than their current lives; and 4) get the word out that life under Daesh is horrible, even for true believers.

Germany is doing yeoman's work by allowing safe harbor for all refugees who can get themselves inside her borders. Continue to tell the horror stories of those who have escaped the atrocities.

Sincerely,
'Murrica