ISIS Must be Destroyed

So, I just wanted to make a comment about ISIS and Obama deciding to bomb them, with perhaps more than bombing in the future. I've noticed a lot of confusion amongst conservatives in the past 24 hrs, with half denouncing Obama and the other half patting him on the back. This is quite understandable.

When you are dealing with a president like Obama, who so consistently makes the wrong decision, it's hard to know how to respond when he makes a right one, especially when the rest of the world isn't supporting him. The knee-jerk reaction here is to automatically assume he is just making another bad decision again, and then criticize him for it. That works 99% of the time, without having to think much about the decision he is making and the reasons for it.


But in this case, it is clear beyond all reasonable doubts that ISIS must be destroyed. They are murdering Christians and even other Muslims who don't subscribe to their specific ideology. They are murdering anyone that they just don't like even. ISIS is also coming into contact with one group of people who have a very mixed religion which Muslims, and even some Christians, consider to be "Devil Worship". You can imagine how badly that will turn out for those people.

These animals are reveling in death and murder. Their conscience has been completely suspended, much as it has been in the past by groups like the SS in Nazi Germany. Killing has been normalized to them. Human life means nothing. They are too dangerous to exist, and regardless of how ISIS came to be, or who's mess it is, or who should be dealing with them, they must be destroyed. Period.

Per usual in this era, it falls to us Americans to do something about it. If we don't, the horrible murder spree in Iraq will continue, and possibly spread. As barbaric as ISIS are, and as crude as their methods are, they cannot be underestimated as an enemy. While their talk of raising the "flag of Allah" over the White House is little more than delusional propaganda, they are a very real threat to the west in the near-term.

They are a very real threat to many non-Muslims in the here and now. And if ISIS is allowed to completely conquer Iraq and entrench themselves there, we will have a far bigger problem to deal with in the future. Another point being made by our cousins across the pond is that many "Europeans and British" are among ISIS. I use quotations because these aren't really ethnic Europeans or British, but Middle-eastern Muslims that grew up in Europe and Britain and have been radicalized...if that is really even a thing.

Their worry is that, nobody is sure exactly who from these countries are members of ISIS since that wasn't exactly tracked. ISIS doesn't keep a detailed roster or something. And the Brits and Europeans are concerned that these scumbags will make their way back to their "home" countries and bring their ISIS craziness with them, starting trouble all over Europe. There are large Muslim communities in Britain and all over Europe. If these were somehow mobilized, it could spell trouble.

I know it seems unlikely that the majority of Muslims in western countries would suddenly go all Jihad on everyone, but so far there doesn't seem to be any way to know if or when some young Muslim is going to suddenly become "radicalized". I wonder if there really is such a thing, or if most Muslims are just "sleepers". I don't really know. The idea of a world Caliphate is something central to some brands of Islam, and if ISIS convinces enough Muslims that they've begun exactly that, I wonder what the consequences will be.

So ISIS must be destroyed completely, and as quickly as possible. Before they can entrench themselves, before they can gain relevance among mainstream Islam, and before their ilk begins trickling back to Europe and starting a whole mess there. Because of how serious it is, I think even Obama realizes that it is up to us to destroy them. Hey, even a broken clock is right twice a day.

I do worry about whether the President will let the military do their job or not. Constraining our military is what leads to casualties on our side as well as bogging down operations. If we are going to deal with ISIS, we just cannot afford to play the Rules of Engagement game. It will not work with them as they will not hesitate to use human shields. We must realize that the best way to save as many lives as possible is to hit ISIS with everything we have, even in the face of civilian casualties. The faster we destroy ISIS, the more lives will be saved in the long run.

The longer this takes, the more that will die. Not by our hands perhaps, but by ISIS. It is a poor argument to make that in to some kind of moral distinction when the total body count ends up being higher for both our troops and civilians. Moral high ground be darned, we just need to wipe ISIS out and quickly. I was on the fence before about the US getting involved, but ISIS has made it clear that our not being involved is just not an option if we really consider ourselves a moral people who believe in human rights.

Obama made a right decision, and one that I think truly goes against his thinking. Let's hope he keeps it up in this crises and doesn't turn it into more of a mess than it already is.