ISIS Crisis

[Geezer]

Maybe everyone's not faking it.

[Gaucho]

Are you saying I'm too cynical? Yeah, I suppose it's possible.

[Geezer]

Are you saying I'm too cynical? Yeah, I suppose it's possible.

That's not a bad thing. I'm proud of being cynical by nature.

[Tico Rick]

Just read this lengthy, and enlightening, article about ISIS. I encourage everyone to read it. It's good to know your enemy:
http://www.theatlantic.com/features/arc ... =SFTwitter

[Bioshock]

I love how this topic has a title that rhymes

[Tico Rick]

I would have liked to have seen Syria Hysteria.

[DelPen]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tY8Y8kBFXHI[/youtube]

Wow, just...wow.

[shafnutz05]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tY8Y8kBFXHI[/youtube]

Wow, just...wow.

You sure this is a deputy State Dept. spokesman? And not some college sophomore ranting in her "Cultural Studies" class? Jesus. Yup, ISIS is just looking for shovel-ready jobs and a stimulus package.

[count2infinity]

video deleted, what's going on here?

[columbia]

I don't need to click on that to guess that it's bad.

[DelPen]

I don't need to click on that to guess that it's bad.

It was just Marie Harf, deputy spokesperson for the US Department of State, claiming we can't kill our way out of a war with ISIS and instead we need to create a better economy and job market for their youth so they won't migrate to cutting the heads of children and burning people alive in cages.

First, yes, you can kill your way out of this, our supply of munitions is and will always be greater than the number of current and future combatants. Second, a jobs program is the most asinine thing to respond to evil. If the State Dept under FDR had said this is response to the rise of the Nazi party in Germany what would the reaction from the press and the country be?

[PensFanInDC]

I don't think a jobs program or better economy is either a) within our ability to provide or b) the answer to the isis problem. I also don't think killing them is the answer either.

[shafnutz05]

Nah, ISIS is just pining for Great Society programs. It's worked so well at eliminating crime and poverty in the United States, why wouldn't it work there?

[DelPen]

I don't know how you negotiate with these people. They need to not exist because they will not stop. They don't want land. They don't want money. They don't want power. They want people dead.

[Tico Rick]

I don't think a jobs program or better economy is either a) within our ability to provide or b) the answer to the isis problem. I also don't think killing them is the answer either.

The Atlantic article I referenced above suggests certain policies based on what ISIS really is - a group of zealots who are following a particularly fundamentalist belief in Islam. Based on their beliefs, a jobs program won't work - unless you're talking about jobs provided by Christians who are willing to submit to ISIS and become their slaves. Killing them is really the best answer, though we (westerners, and the U.S. in particular) shouldn't be the ones doing the killing, as that is exactly what they want - an apopolyptic showdown that will herald the end of days. Part of the solution, according to the Atlantic article, is to take back the territory that ISIS now controls, for without territory there can be no caliphate, and with no caliphate Muslims will not feel compelled to give up their current lives to join the fight. This is all according to their reading of the Koran.

[PensFanInDC]

I don't know how you negotiate with these people. They need to not exist because they will not stop. They don't want land. They don't want money. They don't want power. They want people dead.

That is a broad stroke. They don't just want people dead. They want a caliphate that spans the globe. By then all the people that they would want dead would be dead so the murder of every infidel isn't their end game, just a big step toward it.

[PensFanInDC]

I don't think a jobs program or better economy is either a) within our ability to provide or b) the answer to the isis problem. I also don't think killing them is the answer either.

The Atlantic article I referenced above suggests certain policies based on what ISIS really is - a group of zealots who are following a particularly fundamentalist belief in Islam. Based on their beliefs, a jobs program won't work - unless you're talking about jobs provided by Christians who are willing to submit to ISIS and become their slaves. Killing them is really the best answer, though we (westerners, and the U.S. in particular) shouldn't be the ones doing the killing, as that is exactly what they want - an apopolyptic showdown that will herald the end of days. Part of the solution, according to the Atlantic article, is to take back the territory that ISIS now controls, for without territory there can be no caliphate, and with no caliphate Muslims will not feel compelled to give up their current lives to join the fight. This is all according to their reading of the Koran.

Believe me, my opinion on how I would like to deal with isis has changed. I used to be in the "kill em all" crowd. I'm not so sure I like that answer. I'm not a real pacifist but I really don't want any more war. Ever. Period. Especially one that involves the nation that I call home. I would really like to see the US become totally isolationalist.

[Avyran]

IMO, the "answer" is to destroy their lifeline. Provide education & improvement of life to the people they target. Educate the hell out of their women ( ), and protect them as they learn. Educate their children and teach them about equality, and other things. Give them food & drink, and (like an adage says) heap burning coals upon their head because of it.

Now, that's not gonna happen. Realistically, I don't think there's any good outside answer except wait for them to implode, because they're going to eventually.

[PensFanInDC]

IMO, the "answer" is to destroy their lifeline. Provide education & improvement of life to the people they target. Educate the hell out of their women ( ), and protect them as they learn. Educate their children and teach them about equality, and other things. Give them food & drink, and (like an adage says) heap burning coals upon their head because of it.

Now, that's not gonna happen. Realistically, I don't think there's any good outside answer except wait for them to implode, because they're going to eventually.

That is the answer my wife likes and I too am starting to warm up to that idea. Trying to teach those in isis is probably a lost cause. Teaching their potential "subjects" on the power of equality, etc. could be an effective weapon. Show love and love will be shown back.

[The U]

I don't need to click on that to guess that it's bad.

It was just Marie Harf, deputy spokesperson for the US Department of State, claiming we can't kill our way out of a war with ISIS and instead we need to create a better economy and job market for their youth so they won't migrate to cutting the heads of children and burning people alive in cages.

First, yes, you can kill your way out of this, our supply of munitions is and will always be greater than the number of current and future combatants. Second, a jobs program is the most asinine thing to respond to evil. If the State Dept under FDR had said this is response to the rise of the Nazi party in Germany what would the reaction from the press and the country be?

She needs to read that theAtlantic.com article.

[The U]

I don't know how you negotiate with these people. They need to not exist because they will not stop. They don't want land. They don't want money. They don't want power. They want people dead.

That is a broad stroke. They don't just want people dead. They want a caliphate that spans the globe. By then all the people that they would want dead would be dead so the murder of every infidel isn't their end game, just a big step toward it.

They want a holy war. They want the US/West to send in ground troops. They are congregating in one location...almost doing us a favor. Oblige them.

[Geezer]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/02 ... latestnews" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The WH "summits" are amazing. I'm not sure what this piece of camel dung adds.

[Hockeynut!]

That is the answer my wife likes and I too am starting to warm up to that idea. Trying to teach those in isis is probably a lost cause. Teaching their potential "subjects" on the power of equality, etc. could be an effective weapon. Show love and love will be shown back.

I'd hope that train of thought is also what was behind the "jobs" comment from the official. I don't think anyone's dumb enough to think, "Hey, these guys just burned 40 people alive. Let's give them jobs and everything will be a-okay!" I think the jobs comment was about making it less likely people will be recruited.

[Kaizer]

Education doesn't work so well when it's illegal under penalty of death for you and your whole neighborhood

[tifosi77]

Philosophically I do agree that educating the people is the key to putting an and to all religious extremism. However, this:

Education doesn't work so well when it's illegal under penalty of death for you and your whole neighborhood

...is a fairly large obstruction to that goal.