I'm generally a pretty positive and optimistic guy, when I am not paying my doubled health insurance bill. I like to think there is a way out, or a way to better things, or a way that the Red Sox can pull out a win when they're down 8-0 in the 5th.
But what is to be made of the fact that Islamic extremists are conducting religion-based armed attacks in the USA as we sit relatively idly by and let ISIS and Al Qaeda grow by leaps and bounds, recruiting on our shores and running rampant around the Persian Gulf? And what is to be made of the very evident aims of theirs, to take over the world country by country?
We have religious fanatics all over the world. But fundamentalist Christians do not threaten the lives of those who disagree with them, and then line them up to be killed. The strictest Hasidic Jews don't bomb houses of worship of other faiths and machine-gun those running from the scene, and the most rigorous Buddhists do nothing more than chant. Murdering non-believers is a hallmark only of the extremists of the Islamic faith. Slaughtering infidels? Theirs and theirs alone to do.
So if they believe this is their religious imperative, and there are millions of them who share this view, then what, pray tell, are the optional outcomes? I'll tell you, and it isn't pretty -- either the Islamic extremists are wiped off the face of the earth, or they will wipe the rest of the world out of existence. To them, there is no other choice.
Perhaps I don't get out much, but any other logic escapes me. If the Islamic radical murderers showed any sign of being able to be moved to a different interpretation of the Koran, like one that reads "Peace be upon all mankind", or "Love thy neighbor as thyself", rather than "If they are infidels, kill them", perhaps there would be a middle ground.
But these are people who enslave their female population into a grotesque servitude with little opportunity for escape. They kill innocent women and children for being Yazidi or Kurds or even inadequately-Muslim. Who among us has not had an acquaintance describe themselves as a "lapsed Catholic"? Does the bishop come by with an AK-47 to unlapse them? Not hardly.
It's a Muslim thing ... We wouldn't understand.
My conclusion in pondering this today is that there is no good result from this, and we should not try too hard to find one. We kill the Islamic radicals or they kill us (or, I suppose, we could all become radical Muslims, although we probably have to pick the Sunni or Shiite side correctly, lest they, well, kill us).
Regretfully, our foreign policy as I write this is one of Chamberlainesque appeasement; we give and we concede and we let things go, presumably, I guess, in the hope that they will kill us last.
"But," I hear you say, "What about the three million American Muslims here? They don't all believe that stuff!" OK, sure. What, in fact, about those three million, or the billion around the world? Here's my question -- Where the heck are they? Why will not even 100 of the American Muslims stand up and condemn ISIS, Al Qaeda, Iran and Islamic terrorism in general, in the strongest words possible? Are they too scared for their own lives? Is this what their faith teaches?
This, friends, is why Islamic terrorists must be wiped out immediately and without quarter. It is why the military operation needs to be handed over to our generals and admirals, and they must be told "You know how to do this -- wipe them out."
Because there is no other solution. Islamism has defined itself and its world domination goal; however long it takes, they must conquer. They will kill us because we are infidels. They have no other option.
I suppose we could always wait around until they start pulling some of these attacks in Russia or China, because once Putin gets attacked it will be the end. Who knows, maybe that's Obama's strategy -- appease, appease, appease the terrorists until they slip up and attack Russians. There has to be some strategy other than his "legacy", although no one can see it.
Kill or be killed. What a depressing state.
Copyright 2015 by Robert Sutton
Like what you read here? There's a new post from Bob at www.uberthoughtsUSA.com at 10am Eastern time, every weekday, giving new meaning to "prolific essayist."
When the Turks murdered Armenians a century ago, the fact that not ALL Turks were fanatic murderers was of little comfort to their victims. The fact is that a sizable minority, and yes a majority in some places, of Muslims are in favor of forcibly imposing sharia on the rest of us infidels. I have no problem with watching them suffer at the hands of the psychopathic members of ISIS. We probably need to let the Shia and Sunnis go at each other for the next few years. Eventually, they'll be stupid enough to try to export their violence here on a large scale. At that point we should eschew tip-toeing through their country as we try to bomb the perpetrators. Instead a few months of continual shock and awe might have an effect. Especially if we just take out their electrical grid...just sayin
ReplyDeleteWell, I certainly can't disagree. If radical Islamism is silently supported by a majority of "normal" Muslims, then they might as well fight their internecine wars and work it out themselves. If it is not supported by the rest of their faith, then either the rest" need to condemn it far more publicly and loudly, or cease complaining about accusations against their beliefs.
DeleteThe time for speech is over in the middle east. Believe me when I tell you that most people are hunkered down praying that this all blows over. The reality is that we are watching a phase change in Islamic culture. While the roots of this latest episode may go back nearly a century (Muslim brotherhood), it is now obvious that Al Qaeda was just a symptom of that phase change. The rate is quite rapid now, and the next 15 year or so may require most Muslim countries, or groups within, to choose up sides and either defend or attack. This language is rather strong, but Afghanistan, again, is next, and Pakistan is not a very stable place. Maybe by geography Indonesia might escape this, but the jihadis will probably attempt a serious effort at exporting their war to them.
ReplyDeleteI do feel badly for the innocent among them. I know quite a lot of decent people from many Muslim countries. I wonder if this business in Yemen, with Saudi Arabia getting involved is an indication that governments over there are realizing that they can't just sit idly by.
"... the next 15 years or so may require most Muslim countries, or groups within, to choose up sides and either defend or attack."
DeleteGeorge, assuming you have familiarity beyond mine with that world, is "choosing sides" referring to the Sunni vs. Shia issue, or radical Islamist vs. peaceful worshipper issue?
Yes, plus various ethnic, tribal, and other sectarian sides. I don't imply that it is a good thing, rather, the statement was that they may be required to do so. I not only know something about that world, I get to see analyses from knowledgeable scholars and analysts that go into some detail about that part of the world. I'm afraid that there are times in history when some people can't just live in peace - trouble comes to them and they have to decide if they are going to be victims, or defenders, or if they are going to preemptively deal with the problem. The only other choice is to leave - something my grandparents did. The relatives who stayed are all dead. It gives you a sobering perspective, maybe a more realistic one, that there are times that violence is going to happen to you. We are indeed fortunate to live in a place with a strong enough military that large scale mayhem is unlikely. I'm not sure that the Yazidis had much choice. Imagine what went through educated people's minds when the Khmer Rouge ravaged Cambodia.
ReplyDeleteI am positive about the far future. History is unfortunately full of hard times, but we still managed to create a world of wealth and freedom that was unimaginable not so very long ago. I think one of the defining events of this century is the change that will happen in the Muslim world. I am heartened by the attitudes and changes in Iranian society. After a few decades of rule by religious and corrupt fanatics, few of the young believe their garbage any more. Time is not on the mulla's side, as surely as time was not on the communists side. Yes, it took 7 decades, and not all of the change is as complete as I would wish. Long term, imperceptible change can be very fundamental indeed.
There appears to be an easy solution: more prophet cartoon events in Texas. Although ISIS may be savy about the internet they have not yet learned an old imperative. YOU DON"T SCREW WITH TEXAS!
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