Readers sound off on terrorism’s roots, robocalls and ghost runners

Poughkeepsie, N.Y.: Re “Let jihadi killer live: lawyer” (Feb. 14): Much has been made about “his ISIS-inspired worldview,” which led bike path killer Sayfullo Saipov to hit New York with its worst day of terror since 9/11. Yet it needs to be emphasized that neither ISIS nor Al Qaeda was the originator of that ideology of death.

In his important new book “Without Borders: The Haqqani Network and the Road to Kabul,” veteran Afghan wars correspondent Jere Van Dyk writes of a lunch he had with freedom of the press martyr Jamal Khashoggi not long before his murder. “What was Salafism? It was Wahhabism,” Khashoggi affirmed, equating a standard term for violent fundamentalism with the fanatical official Saudi creed. “If I scanned all radical movements that carried arms, their Islamic background came from Saudi Arabia.” He called ISIS “raw Wahhabism.”

Such truth-telling got Khashoggi killed, and has been much too absent from our discourse about Islamic extremism. And not being honest about the fact that some of our purported friends were the ones who infected the world with this plague has deeply hurt our anti-terror efforts, causing us to lose a necessary and vital war in Afghanistan, among other failures.

Whatever the jury decides about Saipov, history will sentence the House of Saud to death for its crimes, both those of direct violence and the indoctrination that leads to it. Vanni Cappelli, president, Afghanistan Foreign Press Association

Long Branch, N.J.: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is banning the teaching of Black history and slavery in Florida schools. What next, “This is a white neighborhood”? “Whites only”; “Irish need not apply”; “Christians only”; “No Jews”; “No beer sold to Indians”? Just recently, a book about the life and legacy of Pittsburgh Pirates legend Roberto Clemente was pulled from school library shelves in a Florida county. It appears that Jim Crow is not dead. What next, night riders in white sheets? Lenzy Kelley

White Rock, British Columbia: Re “Sky-high confusion” (Feb. 15): Strangely and sadly, what humankind may need to survive ourselves is an even greater, non-humanoid nemesis than our own politics and perceptions of differences — especially those involving race — against which we could all unite, defend, attack and defeat, then celebrate. Perhaps a genocidal, multi-tentacled, extraterrestrial invader, like that from the 1996 blockbuster movie “Independence Day.” During this much-needed human allegiance, we’d be forced to work closely together and witness just how similar we are to each other. Still, when all traces of the nightmarish invasion are gone, we will inevitably revert to those same politics to which we humans seem so hopelessly prone. Frank Sterle Jr.

Tappan, N.Y.: To Voicer Lawrence Krasner: The purpose of most surveillance is to gather intelligence, yet you suggest permanently placing a surveillance balloon over Mar-a-Lago. What could possibly be the purpose? There is certainly no vestige of intelligence to be found there. Raymond Hayes

San Francisco: In his reply to Voicer Ellen Settanni, Voicer James Hyland claims that, as he sees it, “an overwhelming majority of MAGA supporters were aghast at what transpired on Jan. 6, 2021.″ If so, why do polls continuously show support among MAGA supporters for the obvious inciter of the insurrection, Felonious Drumpf? Jimmy Layton

Avon-by-the-Sea, N.J.: Voicer Oren Spiegler’s comments as to the Republican heckling during President Biden’s speech is spot-on. However, how did he feel when Nancy Pelosi stood behind Trump, tore up his speech and made faces? Both parties need to act like leaders and do their best for the public, not the party. Robert Stiloski

Bronx: I am no friend of Mitt Romney, but I agree with him on this issue (“State of disunion,” Feb. 9). George Santos has no dignity, no shame. Instead of flaunting himself out there at President Biden’s State of the Union speech, he should have made himself inconspicuous. The number of lies he told was appalling, the most egregious being using the Holocaust and 9/11 as part of his story. I think he should be recalled based on the fact that he committed fraud against the people who elected him. I am sure many voted for him based on the numerous lies he told about his family and himself. I am not surprised that he believes Trump will win in 2024 because they are both cut from the same lying cloth. Pauline Graham Binder

Milford, Conn.: What scares me the most is that 30% of Americans think Biden is doing a good job. Very scary. And they believe what he said in his State of the Union address? Seriously? You people need to get out of the house more often. Pete Sulzicki

White Plains, N.Y.: President Biden and Donald Trump should not run in 2024 — Trump because of all his lousy, hurtful baggage and Biden because his out-of-control spending has put this country on a path to a possible recession it has not seen in years. The average American cannot even meet his or her basic needs because of inflation, which is the result of Biden’s massive spending. Joan Cocurullo

Brooklyn: The real people who are guilty of the opioid crisis in this country aren’t the ones at the border asking for asylum or coming across the border illegally. It’s the doctors who got this country hooked on Vicodin, Percodan, Percocet, oxycodone and the rest of the opioid painkillers, plus the pharmaceutical companies that flooded this country with pills they swore weren’t addictive. I am one of those addicts whose life these doctors almost ruined. Harvey Kaplan

Manchester, N.J.: In August, I hit the age of 90. Thank the Lord above, I’m in pretty good shape. The only thing I do not like is that I’m receiving so many robocalls. These callers are trying to sell me everything from underwear to brand-new cars. How they got my phone number, I’ll never know. Is it possible that they think I’m forgetful now that I’m 90? How they got my age is a little annoying, too! I’m thinking of getting rid of my phone! I don’t have a computer! John Giacchi

Woodside: It was reported that an organizer for Transportation Alternatives was involved in a bicycle accident in Prospect Park (“Qns. pol slammed for saying cyclists should be licensed,” Feb. 14). When she tried to get the other cyclist’s information, he and his friends took off. She tweeted, “Dude is a complete d–k and so are his friends.” It’s interesting how she was upset she did not get information from the other cyclist while Transportation Alternatives as a whole is willing to let bicyclists get away with any infraction on the road. Bicyclists run red lights, go through stop signs and go the wrong way on one-way streets, and it seems Transportation Alternatives is fine with it. Had this organizer had a run-in with a car, she would be demanding more bike lanes and fewer cars on the road. Tom Rice

Manhattan: I am all for converting from fossil fuels to clean electric power, but that begs the question: Is there a secure, reliable power grid to sustain it? There’s no sense in converting and having an outage bring everything to a halt. Make sure the infrastructure is in place first, then convert. Lynne Henderson

Bronx: Well, Major League Baseball’s rules committee has just done a big disservice to the game. They decided to make the extra-inning rule of a ghost-runner starting every extra inning permanent. It was implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic to shorten games for the health of players. Why change something that has been a rule since 1869? Few games go long into extra innings. This rule change will affect only a few games, so why do it? Just to save a team’s bullpen. Baseball is a game of attrition — first hit, first run. This changes that in extra innings. I am sure others will voice the same opinion. Charles Lavorerio