ISIS Enshrines a Theology of Rape (1 Viewer)

[James Daulton]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/14/world/middleeast/isis-enshrines-a-theology-of-rape.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

It's difficult to understand how this kind of thing is tolerated in today's world. The governments of these countries can do nothing? And how can someone be so consumed with their religious beliefs that they believe rape is ok? I realize this type of behavior does not represent all Muslims, but the article didn't make it sound it like it was only a few radicals either.

I guess I just don't understand how this type of systematic evil still occurs today.

 

[omahawildcat25]

It doesn't help that the leader of the freeworld is a pansie who doesn't think America should get involved in dealing with cultural issues of other countries. He would rather divide his own country.

 

[Mohawk]

Sure...all the crazy #### in the world is our fault and specifically Obama's, for not fixing everything just as you would like it. Damned Democrats! ?

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Well, you've finally convinced me that ISIS are bad guys.

 

[whoknew]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/14/world/middleeast/isis-enshrines-a-theology-of-rape.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

It's difficult to understand how this kind of thing is tolerated in today's world. The governments of these countries can do nothing? And how can someone be so consumed with their religious beliefs that they believe rape is ok? I realize this type of behavior does not represent all Muslims, but the article didn't make it sound it like it was only a few radicals either.

I guess I just don't understand how this type of systematic evil still occurs today.

What government? Apparently in the region in which they operate, ISIS is the government.

 

[matuski]

It doesn't help that the leader of the freeworld is a pansie who doesn't think America should get involved in dealing with cultural issues of other countries. He would rather divide his own country.

Seriously, this is all Obama's fault. So obvious to anyone with a brain.

 

[Fennis]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhY9Zxv1-oo

 

[top dog]

Very sad situation over there. It does amaze me that in this day and age an interpretation of this religion seems centuries behind in logical thinking and just TAKES OFF over there. People love to compare radical Islam sects such as ISIS to the radical Christian sects such as Westboro Baptist Church. And while the correlation makes some sense, the sheer number of radical Islamists and what seems to be such a rise of these beliefs in recent years is pretty damn scary.

 

[timschochet]

Should we invade?

 

[Chadstroma]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/14/world/middleeast/isis-enshrines-a-theology-of-rape.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

It's difficult to understand how this kind of thing is tolerated in today's world. The governments of these countries can do nothing? And how can someone be so consumed with their religious beliefs that they believe rape is ok? I realize this type of behavior does not represent all Muslims, but the article didn't make it sound it like it was only a few radicals either.

I guess I just don't understand how this type of systematic evil still occurs today.

Just wait until they rape a lion. That is when there will be outrage.

 

[Fennis]

Should we invade?

What could go wrong?

 

[Chadstroma]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/14/world/middleeast/isis-enshrines-a-theology-of-rape.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

It's difficult to understand how this kind of thing is tolerated in today's world. The governments of these countries can do nothing? And how can someone be so consumed with their religious beliefs that they believe rape is ok? I realize this type of behavior does not represent all Muslims, but the article didn't make it sound it like it was only a few radicals either.

I guess I just don't understand how this type of systematic evil still occurs today.

One thing to remember is that if you have a community- be it a village, city, country, region, etc. That there is not just a dominate religion but nearly everyone 'belongs' to that religion and the entire society is based out of that religion- there are going to be many people who are not really 'true' followers of that religion. It becomes more of a social or traditional or identity issue for them. The history of Christianity in Europe is something you can see similarity and ask yourself 'how can a Christian do this?'

On the other hand, Daesh (I don't like to use the ISIS name) is derived from a particularly harsh and militant brand of Sunni Islamic tradition. The wahhabi movement is what eventually produced Al-Qaeda and Daesh is an offshoot of Al-Qaeda that is even more deranged and extreme than Al-Qaeda ever was. You can think of it in terms of Christianity in the US. There are evangelicals and then a group like Westboro Baptist is the Al-Qaeda equivalent and now Daesh is an even more crazy version of Westboro.

So, even within Daesh, you have the true believers who actually believe their twisted theology. But then there are others who are along for the ride so to speak. Further, in Syria, there are many groups with various shades of craziness and they for the most part have a history of fighting with each other against the government forces to the point and they turn on each other. Daesh has been by far the most successful and poured out in Iraq because of it being a soft target.

 

[timschochet]

When I listen to the Republican candidates complain about this, with the exception of Graham (who really does want to invade) their main criticism seems to be that Obama should use the phrase "radical Islam" more often, and that if they get elected they'll be sure to say it ten times a day if need be.

Hey man, if it will really defeat ISIS I think we should all be saying it all of the time. Radical Islam! Radical Islam! Radical Islam!

I feel safer already.

 

[lod01]

Very sad situation over there. It does amaze me that in this day and age an interpretation of this religion seems centuries behind in logical thinking and just TAKES OFF over there. People love to compare radical Islam sects such as ISIS to the radical Christian sects such as Westboro Baptist Church. And while the correlation makes some sense, the sheer number of radical Islamists and what seems to be such a rise of these beliefs in recent years is pretty damn scary.

Those people are the dumbest of the dumb on planet Earth. Wiping them out would be the best thing for the planet.

 

[Chadstroma]

When I listen to the Republican candidates complain about this, with the exception of Graham (who really does want to invade) their main criticism seems to be that Obama should use the phrase "radical Islam" more often, and that if they get elected they'll be sure to say it ten times a day if need be.

Hey man, if it will really defeat ISIS I think we should all be saying it all of the time. Radical Islam! Radical Islam! Radical Islam!

I feel safer already.

I think most, with the exception of Rand Paul, actually would like more direct action. The current strategy of drop a few bombs and hope everything works out is obviously not very effective. Hell, we secured a better base to bomb from in Turkey in exchange for Turkey going after the most effective fighters against Daesh to date which means overall we just helped Daesh by having a nonsensical foreign policy in relation to Daesh and Syria.

 

[Sabertooth]

It doesn't help that the leader of the freeworld is a pansie who doesn't think America should get involved in dealing with cultural issues of other countries. He would rather divide his own country.

That didn't take long.

 

[jonessed]

I'm actually more amazed that people are still surprised by things like this. Projecting our world view and what we consider rational thought onto people that have no relation to either leads to significant naivety in the general public. That in of itself is dangerous.

 

[Chadstroma]

Very sad situation over there. It does amaze me that in this day and age an interpretation of this religion seems centuries behind in logical thinking and just TAKES OFF over there. People love to compare radical Islam sects such as ISIS to the radical Christian sects such as Westboro Baptist Church. And while the correlation makes some sense, the sheer number of radical Islamists and what seems to be such a rise of these beliefs in recent years is pretty damn scary.

Yes, bringing Westboro in the conversation of Islam = Daesh and Christianity = Westboro is very inadequate comparison. As hella crazy as Westboro is they are not out there bombing and shooting. Also, their support whether direct or sympathetic is extremely minute in numbers. Further, the vast majority of Christendom actively and loudly condemns them. With Islam, the extremist groups enjoy if not direct support then sympathetic support. Not many are willing to oppose them either vocally or forcefully or even symbolically and those who do often are killed.

The only usefulness of bringing Westboro into a conversation is trying to help someone who is not familar with Islam try to understand it in terms that they might understand. Here in the US, people who are not Christian or have very little understanding of Christianity still have an idea of the difference between your 'average' Christian and some whackadoo from Westboro.

 

[Hov34]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/14/world/middleeast/isis-enshrines-a-theology-of-rape.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

It's difficult to understand how this kind of thing is tolerated in today's world. The governments of these countries can do nothing? And how can someone be so consumed with their religious beliefs that they believe rape is ok? I realize this type of behavior does not represent all Muslims, but the article didn't make it sound it like it was only a few radicals either.

I guess I just don't understand how this type of systematic evil still occurs today.

Just wait until they rape a lion. That is when there will be outrage.

We should send some Hand Bananas over there. That will show them.

 

[Chadstroma]

What I can not understand for the life of me is how liberals are so eager to turn a blind eye. This article is not new or not widely known. There are many other horrors that Daesh has committed and there is not even a stirring.

The same people who are so concerned about rape culture in the US do not seem to be at all concerned about the systemic rape

The same people who color their facebook profile pictures in rainbow colors to celebrate a SCOTUS gay marriage decision don't even bother to post anything on facebook about how Daesh threw gay men off buildings to execute them simply for being gay.

The same people who are so keen to jump on the "Black Lives Matter" bandwagon don't seem to think that entire populations lives matter when they are being targeted for genocide like the Kurds, Yazidi, Christians and more.

The same people who freak out about a lion being killed overseas don't seem at all bothered by a picture of a line of Christian men being executed simply because they refuse to renounce their faith.

I really don't understand. This is not an attack on liberals but an honest lack of understanding that really is painful to see. What exactly is it about Daesh that liberals are so tone deaf on? Is it because conservatives are the main ones raising their voices and they are knee jerked into not caring? Is it because it does not fit into the normal Euro-centric, Capitalism or Emperialism narrative of what bad guys are they are use to? Is it because the religion is not Christianity and they are uncomfortable confronting it? Is it fear that acknowledging the evil would mean it would demand direct action to attack it? I really am at a loss to understand the indifference.

 

[ClownCausedChaos2]

It doesn't help that the leader of the freeworld is a pansie who doesn't think America should get involved in dealing with cultural issues of other countries. He would rather divide his own country.

Seriously, this is all Obama's fault. So obvious to anyone with a brain.

Say what you will, but at least Bush didn't divide the country. Everyone hated him.

 

[cstu]

Very sad situation over there. It does amaze me that in this day and age an interpretation of this religion seems centuries behind in logical thinking and just TAKES OFF over there. People love to compare radical Islam sects such as ISIS to the radical Christian sects such as Westboro Baptist Church. And while the correlation makes some sense, the sheer number of radical Islamists and what seems to be such a rise of these beliefs in recent years is pretty damn scary.

It's taking off among poor, disaffected youths who are getting sold on the idea of being heroes while at the same time being able to do anything they want (rape, kill) without repercussion. Think 1930's Germany.

 

[cstu]

What I can not understand for the life of me is how liberals are so eager to turn a blind eye. This article is not new or not widely known. There are many other horrors that Daesh has committed and there is not even a stirring.

What percent of liberals do you believe oppose giving air support and aid to those fighting ISIS?

 

[Limp Ditka]

KANER!

 

[kutta]

Reads kind of like the the Old Testament.

 

[Chadstroma]

What I can not understand for the life of me is how liberals are so eager to turn a blind eye. This article is not new or not widely known. There are many other horrors that Daesh has committed and there is not even a stirring.

What percent of liberals do you believe oppose giving air support and aid to those fighting ISIS?

Thank God we have such an effective strategy in place. Even more so now that the Turks are bombing the most effective ground force that opposes Daesh.

Is your point that the liberal conscience is appeased by a strategy that have proven to be ineffective? There is no real desire to confront and destroy this evil just as long as we can sleep at night knowing we are dropping a few bombs and thus can't be accused of doing nothing?

 

[cstu]

What I can not understand for the life of me is how liberals are so eager to turn a blind eye. This article is not new or not widely known. There are many other horrors that Daesh has committed and there is not even a stirring.

What percent of liberals do you believe oppose giving air support and aid to those fighting ISIS?

Thank God we have such an effective strategy in place. Even more so now that the Turks are bombing the most effective ground force that opposes Daesh.

Is your point that the liberal conscience is appeased by a strategy that have proven to be ineffective? There is no real desire to confront and destroy this evil just as long as we can sleep at night knowing we are dropping a few bombs and thus can't be accused of doing nothing?

I'm not your typical liberal over-whelmed by 'conscience'. We're doing what we can without angering (with boots on the ground) the people we're trying to help. Syria is a mess because defeating ISIS is helping Assad and we can't even get anyone there to fight ISIS instead of Assad (we have millions ready to give to groups who would fight ISIS and not switch to fighting Assad as soon as they get it).

ISIS will eventually be destroyed, it's a given.

 

[timschochet]

Chad, your complaint sounds very much like most of the Republican candidates. Why so concerned about what you think is the "blind eye" of liberals? What would it solve if every liberal agreed with you, and if the President said "radical Islam!" every time he opened his mouth?

We face the same choice with ISIS as we did with Saddam Hussein, as we do with Iran, as we have with every enemy we've ever faced: we either try to contain the threat, or we try to destroy it. Right now we're more interested in containment, because we all know that in order to destroy ISIS we're going to need to lead a coalition of ground forces and nobody wants that #### all over again if we can avoid it. It may be that we can't avoid it, but we're not at that point yet. And so we are faced with a frustrating situation where we watch this crap and can't do much about it.

But I think it's disingenuous to use this frustrating situation to attack Obama and liberals in general when nobody else has a better solution other than total war.

 

[glock]

What I can not understand for the life of me is how liberals are so eager to turn a blind eye. This article is not new or not widely known. There are many other horrors that Daesh has committed and there is not even a stirring.

The same people who are so concerned about rape culture in the US do not seem to be at all concerned about the systemic rape

The same people who color their facebook profile pictures in rainbow colors to celebrate a SCOTUS gay marriage decision don't even bother to post anything on facebook about how Daesh threw gay men off buildings to execute them simply for being gay.

The same people who are so keen to jump on the "Black Lives Matter" bandwagon don't seem to think that entire populations lives matter when they are being targeted for genocide like the Kurds, Yazidi, Christians and more.

The same people who freak out about a lion being killed overseas don't seem at all bothered by a picture of a line of Christian men being executed simply because they refuse to renounce their faith.

I really don't understand. This is not an attack on liberals but an honest lack of understanding that really is painful to see. What exactly is it about Daesh that liberals are so tone deaf on? Is it because conservatives are the main ones raising their voices and they are knee jerked into not caring? Is it because it does not fit into the normal Euro-centric, Capitalism or Emperialism narrative of what bad guys are they are use to? Is it because the religion is not Christianity and they are uncomfortable confronting it? Is it fear that acknowledging the evil would mean it would demand direct action to attack it? I really am at a loss to understand the indifference.

"Funny." My experience is that far more of my conservative acquaintances think we should "mind our own damn business" and do more here at home. Nuntilit'sIMBYism at it's finest.

 

[jonessed]

Chad, your complaint sounds very much like most of the Republican candidates. Why so concerned about what you think is the "blind eye" of liberals? What would it solve if every liberal agreed with you, and if the President said "radical Islam!" every time he opened his mouth?

We face the same choice with ISIS as we did with Saddam Hussein, as we do with Iran, as we have with every enemy we've ever faced: we either try to contain the threat, or we try to destroy it. Right now we're more interested in containment, because we all know that in order to destroy ISIS we're going to need to lead a coalition of ground forces and nobody wants that #### all over again if we can avoid it. It may be that we can't avoid it, but we're not at that point yet. And so we are faced with a frustrating situation where we watch this crap and can't do much about it.

But I think it's disingenuous to use this frustrating situation to attack Obama and liberals in general when nobody else has a better solution other than total war.

The criticisms and frustrations appear to be more about the poor decisions leading up to the current mess than what we do now. Liberals blame Bush's mistakes, conservatives blame Obama's.I think there's a case to be made for plenty of both, but it's always going to be opinion and conjecture. That's how these things go. Why would any of that be disingenuous? Seems pretty genuous to me.

I think addressing the situation without all the PC crap would be a step in the right direction. Radical Islam is a threat, groups like ISIS and Hezbollah do not often behave in a manner we might consider rational and it's important that people understand that.

I understand why Obama does it though. Both views have validity. It's not all political. There are fundamental belief differences here.

 

[Thunderlips]

It doesn't help that the leader of the freeworld is a pansie who doesn't think America should get involved in dealing with cultural issues of other countries. He would rather divide his own country.

I think he wears blouses too.....

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

Well, you've finally convinced me that ISIS are bad guys.

Thanks, Obama

 

[The Football Freak]

What I can not understand for the life of me is how liberals are so eager to turn a blind eye. This article is not new or not widely known. There are many other horrors that Daesh has committed and there is not even a stirring.

The same people who are so concerned about rape culture in the US do not seem to be at all concerned about the systemic rape

The same people who color their facebook profile pictures in rainbow colors to celebrate a SCOTUS gay marriage decision don't even bother to post anything on facebook about how Daesh threw gay men off buildings to execute them simply for being gay.

The same people who are so keen to jump on the "Black Lives Matter" bandwagon don't seem to think that entire populations lives matter when they are being targeted for genocide like the Kurds, Yazidi, Christians and more.

The same people who freak out about a lion being killed overseas don't seem at all bothered by a picture of a line of Christian men being executed simply because they refuse to renounce their faith.

I really don't understand. This is not an attack on liberals but an honest lack of understanding that really is painful to see. What exactly is it about Daesh that liberals are so tone deaf on? Is it because conservatives are the main ones raising their voices and they are knee jerked into not caring? Is it because it does not fit into the normal Euro-centric, Capitalism or Emperialism narrative of what bad guys are they are use to? Is it because the religion is not Christianity and they are uncomfortable confronting it? Is it fear that acknowledging the evil would mean it would demand direct action to attack it? I really am at a loss to understand the indifference.

Who are you to cast aspersions on such a large group of people, saying they are ok enough with these actions to ignore it? It's ok to read that and be angry at the horrors it details...but why lash out at people that have nothing to do with it and try to morally incriminate them? Why resort to weak-minded stereotyping and generalizations? Everything doesn't have to be tied to American politics.

 

[matuski]

What I can not understand for the life of me is how liberals are so eager to turn a blind eye. This article is not new or not widely known. There are many other horrors that Daesh has committed and there is not even a stirring.

The same people who are so concerned about rape culture in the US do not seem to be at all concerned about the systemic rape

The same people who color their facebook profile pictures in rainbow colors to celebrate a SCOTUS gay marriage decision don't even bother to post anything on facebook about how Daesh threw gay men off buildings to execute them simply for being gay.

The same people who are so keen to jump on the "Black Lives Matter" bandwagon don't seem to think that entire populations lives matter when they are being targeted for genocide like the Kurds, Yazidi, Christians and more.

The same people who freak out about a lion being killed overseas don't seem at all bothered by a picture of a line of Christian men being executed simply because they refuse to renounce their faith.

I really don't understand. This is not an attack on liberals but an honest lack of understanding that really is painful to see. What exactly is it about Daesh that liberals are so tone deaf on? Is it because conservatives are the main ones raising their voices and they are knee jerked into not caring? Is it because it does not fit into the normal Euro-centric, Capitalism or Emperialism narrative of what bad guys are they are use to? Is it because the religion is not Christianity and they are uncomfortable confronting it? Is it fear that acknowledging the evil would mean it would demand direct action to attack it? I really am at a loss to understand the indifference.

We can affect change with gay marriage, domestic racism, domestic rape culture (we have a domestic rape culture?)...

We can affect little change in the ME. Really isn't much more to it than that.

We had full military occupation for nearly a decade.. what did we accomplish again?

 

[DocHolliday]

Chad, your complaint sounds very much like most of the Republican candidates. Why so concerned about what you think is the "blind eye" of liberals? What would it solve if every liberal agreed with you, and if the President said "radical Islam!" every time he opened his mouth?

We face the same choice with ISIS as we did with Saddam Hussein, as we do with Iran, as we have with every enemy we've ever faced: we either try to contain the threat, or we try to destroy it. Right now we're more interested in containment, because we all know that in order to destroy ISIS we're going to need to lead a coalition of ground forces and nobody wants that #### all over again if we can avoid it. It may be that we can't avoid it, but we're not at that point yet. And so we are faced with a frustrating situation where we watch this crap and can't do much about it.

But I think it's disingenuous to use this frustrating situation to attack Obama and liberals in general when nobody else has a better solution other than total war.

Sometimes you have to stand up and do the right thing. Some people can put their head in the sand and ignore the systematic destruction of thousands of human lives. Some of us cannot.

 

[matuski]

Chad, your complaint sounds very much like most of the Republican candidates. Why so concerned about what you think is the "blind eye" of liberals? What would it solve if every liberal agreed with you, and if the President said "radical Islam!" every time he opened his mouth?

We face the same choice with ISIS as we did with Saddam Hussein, as we do with Iran, as we have with every enemy we've ever faced: we either try to contain the threat, or we try to destroy it. Right now we're more interested in containment, because we all know that in order to destroy ISIS we're going to need to lead a coalition of ground forces and nobody wants that #### all over again if we can avoid it. It may be that we can't avoid it, but we're not at that point yet. And so we are faced with a frustrating situation where we watch this crap and can't do much about it.

But I think it's disingenuous to use this frustrating situation to attack Obama and liberals in general when nobody else has a better solution other than total war.

Sometimes you have to stand up and do the right thing. Some people can put their head in the sand and ignore the systematic destruction of thousands of human lives. Some of us cannot.

I'll ask again.. we had a full military presence in the region for a decade. What would be different this time?

The ME has been at war perpetually for millenia, we aren't the ones that will change it.

 

[joffer]

Chad, your complaint sounds very much like most of the Republican candidates. Why so concerned about what you think is the "blind eye" of liberals? What would it solve if every liberal agreed with you, and if the President said "radical Islam!" every time he opened his mouth?

We face the same choice with ISIS as we did with Saddam Hussein, as we do with Iran, as we have with every enemy we've ever faced: we either try to contain the threat, or we try to destroy it. Right now we're more interested in containment, because we all know that in order to destroy ISIS we're going to need to lead a coalition of ground forces and nobody wants that #### all over again if we can avoid it. It may be that we can't avoid it, but we're not at that point yet. And so we are faced with a frustrating situation where we watch this crap and can't do much about it.

But I think it's disingenuous to use this frustrating situation to attack Obama and liberals in general when nobody else has a better solution other than total war.

Sometimes you have to stand up and do the right thing. Some people can put their head in the sand and ignore the systematic destruction of thousands of human lives. Some of us cannot.

like when we invaded Iraq

 

[Coeur de Lion]

Chad, your complaint sounds very much like most of the Republican candidates. Why so concerned about what you think is the "blind eye" of liberals? What would it solve if every liberal agreed with you, and if the President said "radical Islam!" every time he opened his mouth?

We face the same choice with ISIS as we did with Saddam Hussein, as we do with Iran, as we have with every enemy we've ever faced: we either try to contain the threat, or we try to destroy it. Right now we're more interested in containment, because we all know that in order to destroy ISIS we're going to need to lead a coalition of ground forces and nobody wants that #### all over again if we can avoid it. It may be that we can't avoid it, but we're not at that point yet. And so we are faced with a frustrating situation where we watch this crap and can't do much about it.

But I think it's disingenuous to use this frustrating situation to attack Obama and liberals in general when nobody else has a better solution other than total war.

Sometimes you have to stand up and do the right thing. Some people can put their head in the sand and ignore the systematic destruction of thousands of human lives. Some of us cannot.

Horrible atrocities are going on pretty much constantly in various parts of the world at different times. It's terrible, but realistically we can't use our military to solve all of the world's problems.

 

[TPW]

When I listen to the Republican candidates complain about this, with the exception of Graham (who really does want to invade) their main criticism seems to be that Obama should use the phrase "radical Islam" more often, and that if they get elected they'll be sure to say it ten times a day if need be.

Hey man, if it will really defeat ISIS I think we should all be saying it all of the time. Radical Islam! Radical Islam! Radical Islam!

I feel safer already.

The first step toward solving a problem is admitting you have a problem and identifying it. Writing off Islam inspired attacks as workplace violence and coddling the more extreme elements in the Muslim community via an absurd, politically correct speech code is woefully naïve and actively counterproductive.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

You know what else is "actively counterproductive?"

Spending billions trillions of dollars removing stabilizing forces in a historically unsettled area for no reason at all, and leaving the historically unsettled region such a cluster#### that the only possible way to keep it from coming completely unglued is to keep spending trillions of dollars for the rest of eternity.

 

[Thunderlips]

When I listen to the Republican candidates complain about this, with the exception of Graham (who really does want to invade) their main criticism seems to be that Obama should use the phrase "radical Islam" more often, and that if they get elected they'll be sure to say it ten times a day if need be.

Hey man, if it will really defeat ISIS I think we should all be saying it all of the time. Radical Islam! Radical Islam! Radical Islam!

I feel safer already.

The first step toward solving a problem is admitting you have a problem and identifying it. Writing off Islam inspired attacks as workplace violence and coddling the more extreme elements in the Muslim community via an absurd, politically correct speech code is woefully naïve and actively counterproductive.

Results...not rhetoric.

Tony Soprano's musings about the old mobsters (paraphrasing) ( You'd be mouthing off to them....and they'd just sit there and smile and listen and take it......but you were done. You had just punched your own ticket) is a much more effective way of dealing with problems than this rhetoric coming from the shrill Right....like that foreign broad always complaining about Islam on Hannity "WE NEED TO SAY THEY'RE BAD PEOPLE. AND WE NEED TO CALL THEM BAD....AND WE NEED TO TELL THE WHOLE WORLD THEY'RE BAD!!!"

 

[jonessed]

Chad, your complaint sounds very much like most of the Republican candidates. Why so concerned about what you think is the "blind eye" of liberals? What would it solve if every liberal agreed with you, and if the President said "radical Islam!" every time he opened his mouth?

We face the same choice with ISIS as we did with Saddam Hussein, as we do with Iran, as we have with every enemy we've ever faced: we either try to contain the threat, or we try to destroy it. Right now we're more interested in containment, because we all know that in order to destroy ISIS we're going to need to lead a coalition of ground forces and nobody wants that #### all over again if we can avoid it. It may be that we can't avoid it, but we're not at that point yet. And so we are faced with a frustrating situation where we watch this crap and can't do much about it.

But I think it's disingenuous to use this frustrating situation to attack Obama and liberals in general when nobody else has a better solution other than total war.

Sometimes you have to stand up and do the right thing. Some people can put their head in the sand and ignore the systematic destruction of thousands of human lives. Some of us cannot.

Horrible atrocities are going on pretty much constantly in various parts of the world at different times. It's terrible, but realistically we can't use our military to solve all of the world's problems.

We need to when we believe the future consequences of inaction outweigh the consequences of action (as it pertains to our interests). Obviously, that's hugely vague, which is why these are difficult decisions.I don't think we were destined to fail in the ME. We made huge errors in assuming we could easily reform Iraq into a democracy and then abandoning it too soon. The lesson from those two mistakes shouldn't be to wash our hands of the whole thing.

 

[Thunderlips]

What we really need to do is find the Kurds something that we want.....because those dudes seem to be the real deal. It's a shame they don't have anything we'd want to exploit.

 

[jonessed]

What we really need to do is find the Kurds something that we want.....because those dudes seem to be the real deal. It's a shame they don't have anything we'd want to exploit.

They administer a decent amount of oil reserves. They just do it as part of Iraq.

 

[beer 30]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/14/world/middleeast/isis-enshrines-a-theology-of-rape.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

It's difficult to understand how this kind of thing is tolerated in today's world. The governments of these countries can do nothing? And how can someone be so consumed with their religious beliefs that they believe rape is ok? I realize this type of behavior does not represent all Muslims, but the article didn't make it sound it like it was only a few radicals either.

I guess I just don't understand how this type of systematic evil still occurs today.

One thing to remember is that if you have a community- be it a village, city, country, region, etc. That there is not just a dominate religion but nearly everyone 'belongs' to that religion and the entire society is based out of that religion- there are going to be many people who are not really 'true' followers of that religion. It becomes more of a social or traditional or identity issue for them. The history of Christianity in Europe is something you can see similarity and ask yourself 'how can a Christian do this?'

On the other hand, Daesh (I don't like to use the ISIS name) is derived from a particularly harsh and militant brand of Sunni Islamic tradition. The wahhabi movement is what eventually produced Al-Qaeda and Daesh is an offshoot of Al-Qaeda that is even more deranged and extreme than Al-Qaeda ever was. You can think of it in terms of Christianity in the US. There are evangelicals and then a group like Westboro Baptist is the Al-Qaeda equivalent and now Daesh is an even more crazy version of Westboro.

So, even within Daesh, you have the true believers who actually believe their twisted theology. But then there are others who are along for the ride so to speak. Further, in Syria, there are many groups with various shades of craziness and they for the most part have a history of fighting with each other against the government forces to the point and they turn on each other. Daesh has been by far the most successful and poured out in Iraq because of it being a soft target.

Something to consider that I hadn't really thought of until I read this article, a lot of the top echelon of military planners for Daesh (I agree regarding Isis) are made of former Saddam military leaders. There are plenty of whack jobs involved with Daesh but there are a fair number who war to war. That is how they keep their pockets lined and their lifestyles supported.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3190314/The-secret-ISIS-s-success-100-former-Saddam-Hussein-era-officers-run-jihadi-group-s-military-intelligence-operations-Iraq-Syria.html

 

[Thunderlips]

What we really need to do is find the Kurds something that we want.....because those dudes seem to be the real deal. It's a shame they don't have anything we'd want to exploit.

They administer a decent amount of oil reserves. They just do it as part of Iraq.

What we really need to do is find the Kurds something that we want.....because those dudes seem to be the real deal. It's a shame they don't have anything we'd want to exploit.

They administer a decent amount of oil reserves. They just do it as part of Iraq.

Doesn't our hedging on them stem from the hatred of them by the Turks?

 

[jonessed]

What we really need to do is find the Kurds something that we want.....because those dudes seem to be the real deal. It's a shame they don't have anything we'd want to exploit.

They administer a decent amount of oil reserves. They just do it as part of Iraq.

What we really need to do is find the Kurds something that we want.....because those dudes seem to be the real deal. It's a shame they don't have anything we'd want to exploit.

They administer a decent amount of oil reserves. They just do it as part of Iraq.

Doesn't our hedging on them stem from the hatred of them by the Turks?

I believe both Turkey and Iraq fear they will carve out their own state.

 

[Coeur de Lion]

Chad, your complaint sounds very much like most of the Republican candidates. Why so concerned about what you think is the "blind eye" of liberals? What would it solve if every liberal agreed with you, and if the President said "radical Islam!" every time he opened his mouth?

We face the same choice with ISIS as we did with Saddam Hussein, as we do with Iran, as we have with every enemy we've ever faced: we either try to contain the threat, or we try to destroy it. Right now we're more interested in containment, because we all know that in order to destroy ISIS we're going to need to lead a coalition of ground forces and nobody wants that #### all over again if we can avoid it. It may be that we can't avoid it, but we're not at that point yet. And so we are faced with a frustrating situation where we watch this crap and can't do much about it.

But I think it's disingenuous to use this frustrating situation to attack Obama and liberals in general when nobody else has a better solution other than total war.

Sometimes you have to stand up and do the right thing. Some people can put their head in the sand and ignore the systematic destruction of thousands of human lives. Some of us cannot.

Horrible atrocities are going on pretty much constantly in various parts of the world at different times. It's terrible, but realistically we can't use our military to solve all of the world's problems.

We need to when we believe the future consequences of inaction outweigh the consequences of action (as it pertains to our interests). Obviously, that's hugely vague, which is why these are difficult decisions.The existence of a large, permanent territory administrated by ISIS would be very bad.

Don't disagree with this, but permanently occupying the region isn't really productive or realistic either, and IMO that's what it would take to (barely) keep a lid on it.

 

[beer 30]

What we really need to do is find the Kurds something that we want.....because those dudes seem to be the real deal. It's a shame they don't have anything we'd want to exploit.

We have always had the Kurds in our back pocket and always #### all over them. I know Turkey is the powerhouse we support so the alliance with the Kurds is always walking the razors edge but #### the Turks, arm the Kurds to the hilt and turn them lose. They are our ying to Israels yang.

 

[tommyboy]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/14/world/middleeast/isis-enshrines-a-theology-of-rape.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

It's difficult to understand how this kind of thing is tolerated in today's world. The governments of these countries can do nothing? And how can someone be so consumed with their religious beliefs that they believe rape is ok? I realize this type of behavior does not represent all Muslims, but the article didn't make it sound it like it was only a few radicals either.

I guess I just don't understand how this type of systematic evil still occurs today.

there's evil all around, its just how its marketed that is the difference.

you're talking about a religion where a father would rather have his daughter drown than be touched by male lifeguards, true story

http://tribune.com.pk/story/935481/father-lets-daughter-drown-dubai-beach-than-have-male-rescuers-touch-her/