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Retired U.S. Army general and former CIA director David Petraeus wrote his opinion about the effects of anti-Muslim statements being made by politicians and media personalities in a column in The Washington Post on Friday. The column was republished in the Stars and Stripes military newspaper.

Those making these anti-Muslim statements are, apparently, more interested in generating news coverage for themselves than they are concerned for the civilians and military who will be targets for revenge attacks by Islamic terrorists.

The Taliban, ISIS and other Islamic terrorist organizations capitalize on expressed bigotry by quoting these statements in their recruiting propaganda. Gen. Petraeus wrote, "At the same time, such statements directly undermine our ability to defeat Islamist extremists by alienating and undermining the allies whose help we most need to win this fight: namely, Muslims." Bigoted statements lumping all Muslims under the title of terrorists ignore the fact that Islamic terrorists have killed more Muslims than any other religious or ethnic group.

Gen. Petraeus gives several examples of how our forged alliances in Muslim countries have helped to defeat Islamic terrorists in those countries. If ignorant statements destroy those alliances we would lose the hundreds of thousands of Muslim troops currently fighting ISIS and the Taliban. Would we replace those fighters with our own troops and at what cost?

The Petraeus column can be read at the Stars and Stripes website opinion page under the title "Anti-Muslim bigotry aids Islamist terrorists." I urge all to read the column and compare Gen. Petraeus' opinion to those of politicians speaking about interaction with Muslims and Muslim countries. His opinions are based on his education and experience in combat against Islamic terrorists. These are the opinions of a soldier rather than a politician or a media bobblehead.

Gen. Petraeus concludes his column with this statement: "But it is precisely because the danger of Islamist extremism is so great that politicians here and abroad who toy with anti-Muslim bigotry must consider the effects of their rhetoric. Demonizing a religious faith and its adherents not only runs contrary to our most cherished and fundamental values as a country; it is also corrosive to our vital national security interests and, ultimately, to the United States' success in this war."

Jack Dragoni attended Boston College and served in the U.S. Army in Berlin and Vietnam. He lives in Chaffee, Missouri.