I agree with both presidents Obama and Bush that the U.S. is not engaged in a war against Islam and that the Islamic State, or ISIS, does not represent a legitimate interpretation of that religion ("Not a holy war," Feb. 20).
But defining our problems in the region in terms of religion is futile and will only prolong our troubles there.
The fact is that the root conflict between the U.S. and the peoples of the Mideast is a classic power struggle.
Even if ISIS were completely wiped out, another group, just as vicious, would rise up to thwart Western interests and do battle against the despotic rulers in that region. This struggle would go on even if the terrorists were atheists.
The masses of people do not want to be oppressed by a powerful few. Sooner or later the downtrodden will revolt. That is our own history, and that is what we are witnessing now in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere across the Arab world.
Unless the U.S. can find a way to support the goals and interests of the majority of people living in those countries and not just the elite, we can expect to be harassed, attacked and drawn into regional wars there for as long as corporations find drilling for Mideast oil a profitable venture — and that could be a very long time.
Sean Tully, Baltimore