Yes, I know what Salafists are. We have all been marinating in the "global threat of Islamic fundamentalism" ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union and 9/11. But these groups would not be anything without significant funding and armaments. Who gets them that?

Also, do you not find it odd that neither ISIS nor Al Qaeda nor any of the other international Salafist "terror groups" have attacked Israel?

In fact, the one time that ISIS accidentally attacked Israel, they promptly issued an official apology.

The fact is that CIA, MI6 and Mossad have been working with, funding, training and supporting extremists groups of all stripes for decades. AQ and IS would be nothing without Western intel backing. Neither would the Nazis un Ukraine. Did you know that there were ISIS fighters fighting with Ukraine, along with white supremacists and ultranationalists and neo-Nazis from all over the world? The idea of having a core group of extremists (political/religious) who are then mobilised on ideological grounds to attack a US enemy, and who are then joined by "foreign fighters" (international jihadis or White Nationalist Brothers) is a recipe that has been repeated in Syria, Georgia, Tajikistan, Armenia, and of course Ukraine.

I do agree with you about Iraq. That was a huge mistake, and the pinnacle oif hubris. Mission accomplished my ass. Same is true of Libya - huge error and one we in Europe are still suffering from to this day.

BTW I speak 6 languages, of which I am fluent in 4.