It is interesting how Daesh or ISIS or ISIL has presented a situation that brings together normal enemies because of a common threat, which makes the end game even more tenuous. Several things come to mind when looking at a group that believes they have the right to take over an area and impose their religion and a set of laws on everyone who is in their area of control with hopes to expand even further and farther.
1. Most everybody agrees they have to go. But that's more like just getting rid of the biggest bully on the playground and not the other ones.
2. Fully arming those who will actually fight is pretty much all the U.S. has if there are no American combat forces involved. And what might come afterward will be more to sort out and I doubt if it will come that readily.
3. Allies like Saudi Arabia who have funded lesser forms of terrorist movements as well as imposed a harsh and cruel form of religious and political control need to be confronted instead of pandered to.
4. How much more debt does the US incur? But this is not just in the cost of war but also in handing out foreign aid without getting anything in return.
5. The U.S. doesn't take care of its military personnel as it is. But the war machine gets everything it needs. If America sees itself as the world's policeman then maybe more than those who have already served need to have the opportunity.
6. It seems that war refugees are usually overlooked. Humanitarian aid has to be a priority. But all refugees are not alike because of divisions and hatreds.
7. I personally believe that the first consideration in divine judgment is how children are treated. It is the height of evil when you think you have a right to harm a child, especially if think you can do it in the name of God.
8. As in the last Iraq war, the first thing that comes to mind is quagmire. With all the political and religious elements involved, it can't help but be very messy for a long time.
9. Most every religion runs from the peaceful to the militant, including Buddhism to my surprise. It's good that many faithful Moslems are pushing back, but it if they want to communicate that better perhaps the language of war needs to be changed. I don't know for sure, but I don't think the hymn "Onward Christian Soldiers" is as popular as it used to be. ...But then again, maybe it is.
10. Behind all the politics and religion of Daesh, there simply lies a group that wants power and control at any cost. Pointing out the corruption of Western ways with promises of heaven on earth is lost to their simply wanting a land that can be totally controlled.
11. The chance of having to put boots on the ground is pretty good. But then is the U.S. going to maintain troop levels that are periodically involved in skirmishes for an indeterminate time as in Korea?
These are just one person's opinions, but I do hope the U.S. has eyes wide open and constantly checks its backside while it keeps in mind everything else that needs policing. I'm sure all the thanks and future support will be well worth it.
BONUS PIC
CREDITS: AP
BONUS PIC
CREDITS: AP
