The 13th anniversary of Sept. 11 is fast approaching and the question has to be, where are we in the war on terror?

I am afraid that is a question no one can answer with any degree of accuracy or knowledge.

It seems to me the terrorist factions have grown in strength in contrast to what we have been told by the news media and the present administration.

Does anyone have the slightest idea what our foreign policy might be in the Middle East, or for that matter anywhere else? Are we actually providing arms and equipment to everyone in the Middle East and then bombing the side that appears to be winning? What kind of strategy is that? It must be confusing to our military on the ground trying to make a difference, and our allies in the region, if we have any left.

Former President Jimmy Carter began this spiral of bad decisions meddling in the ultimate ouster of the Shah of Iran in 1979. Since then we have been confused and completely out of touch with the problems in the Middle East. It was a mistake there and the record since has not been any better.

These issues of who is in charge of running the country are best left up to the people of their own country. As evidenced by the events of the Arab Spring proved, the results of leadership change is not always a good thing or plays out in our favor.

Need I mention the turn of events by the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt or Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, and now the push to oust Bashar al-Assad in Syria?

Dictators, using strong-armed tactics seems to be the only way to control the different factions within these countries. We are simply aiding and abetting the terrorist by supporting the removal of the dictators.

As a friend suggested to me recently, at least the dictators we helped depose were not slaughtering Christians.

I have always contended the removal of Saddam Hussein was to Iran’s benefit, not ours. Just look at the situation in Iraq now, and Iran stands to gain from any attempt we make to eradicate the radical group presently occupying half the country, and executing any and all who aren‘t of their ideology.

We need to stop meddling in Middle Eastern affairs and especially providing weapons and equipment to groups that end up as radical terrorists.

Our foreign intelligence has been miserably poor and unreliable in the region. Perhaps more assets should be used on foreign intelligence and less on spying on citizens, especially conservatives.

The present radical Islamic threat, much like a cancer, will only grow and proliferate the longer it is not surgically removed.