Threat, or promis?

[jguilletjr]

Isis says they want to kill Obama and then,
blow themselves up to strike fear into the hearts of the infidels..... to me that says the really don't understand us very well.

 

[Gator 45/70]

If they only knew!

 

[Armed Mage]

They'll do whatever they can to goad the West into sending an all-out ground invasion, in accordance with their religious end times playbook.

 

[madwabbit]

They'll do whatever they can to goad the West into sending an all-out ground invasion, in accordance with their religious end times playbook.

I havent made up my mind on whether or not we should grant that request. I know what GW would have done.

 

[Armed Mage]

I havent made up my mind on whether or not we should grant that request. I know what GW would have done.

I generally favor a foreign policy of non-interventionism, considering that all U.S. military interventions in the past 50 years have backfired in one way or another, and American boots on the ground will give more credit to jihadists that ISIS's apocalyptic holy war is legit and drive up recruiting. At the same time though, these savages are a complete affront to humanity and the sooner they're all in the grave the better.

For better or worse, I think more direct western military involvement is inevitable. But ultimately the war against radical Islam will have to be won on the level of hearts and minds, military action is only a quick patch-up in the grand scheme of things.

 

[MTregre]

The 50 year trend would end if they would let our boots do some stomping. If we go, we go to fight, and we support the fight.

Ill be dammed if Ill support more of my friends going to a conflict with a list of rules that prevent them from warring. I'm not one who thinks they need any additional "credit" for their actions. Regardless of our actions they will claim credit. We can run and cowar or truly run an air campaign. Either way, they claim credit. SO either way, they recruit. This isn't a force that is reacting to some US misguidance or the illusion of our liberty. Its evil, simple as that. Youll never win hearts and minds, that's been tried, numerous times and over thousands of years. That Utopian crap is simply, crap.

 

[Armed Mage]

The 50 year trend would end if they would let our boots do some stomping. If we go, we go to fight, and we support the fight.

Ill be dammed if Ill support more of my friends going to a conflict with a list of rules that prevent them from warring. I'm not one who thinks they need any additional "credit" for their actions. Regardless of our actions they will claim credit. We can run and cowar or truly run an air campaign. Either way, they claim credit. SO either way, they recruit. This isn't a force that is reacting to some US misguidance or the illusion of our liberty. Its evil, simple as that. Youll never win hearts and minds, that's been tried, numerous times and over thousands of years. That Utopian crap is simply, crap.

I agree that our troops having all the red tape to deal with is part of the problem. If you're going to use military force, use it in its proper function as destroying an enemy country's ability to fight, not as some global police force like we're treating it as now.

My point about hearts and minds is that ISIS is another of the many physical manifestations of the idea of political Islam. You can gun down implementers of the idea all day but ultimately the idea itself is bullet proof. You can only eradicate the idea by replacing it with a better one, and for the most part that burden will be on the global Muslim community as whole. I think western societies should be supporting the influences in Muslim community (even if they are few) who are also trying to fight Jihad and theocracy in addition to fighting the radicals.