2016-03-22, 07:07 PM
Derimed Wrote:The reason we're losing is because the terrorists hide in and receive aid from the 1.6 billion Islam religion and then that religion is, by political correctness, is allowed to say it was "just a few rogue outliers" and basically nothing happens.
During 9/11 all of the Middle East was dancing and cheering on the streets, when the Lockerbie Bomber was released, he came to a hero's welcome in Libya, and the Charlie Hebdo and Danish Cartoons were met with region-wide death threats, boycotts, riots and terrorist attacks. I am not saying all of the 1.6 billion is responsible -- but a hell of a lot more of them are responsible than they claim it to be.
Until we hold Islam accountable to what Islam does, this will continue. The thing is, as much as their propagandists moan and whine in liberal-sounding language to both absolve Islam of its crimes and blame those crimes on the West -- we do not have infinite patience. I am guessing especially when China and India get pissed off enough, we're going to have a lot of dead pimentos, but we're not at that point yet.
This is a terrific (and terrible) example of victim blaming. While their are certainly sources of support that like to feign helplessness (looking at you "rogue" Saudi nobles), you cannot forget that Muslims are taking far greater casualties in this war against ISIS and other extremists. The West certainly does shoulder some of the responsibility for destabilizing the region and inadvertently creating an environment where political and religious extremism can flourish.
Actually, the reason we're "losing" is because it's really pineappleing hard for large modern armies to kill gorilla fighters. We have a virtually infinite number of fixed targets to defend with limited resources (not even considering we're fighting with our hands tied behind our backs) while our opponents are either A) incognito and hiding among innocent populations or B) caliphate soldiers which aren't a threat beyond the region except as they contribute to A.
The religious (subsection) motivations for these attacks are both paramount and immaterial (yes that's a paradox). It's immaterial to ask why these attacks happen because there's nothing special about Islam that incites violence. Plenty of other excuses have and will be used to brainwash new soldiers. The cold reality for Western countries is that all the advanced technology in the world cannot stop every idiot with an AK or garden variety explosives from going on a rampage. These weapons are just too easily obtainable and there's no easy way to change that.
Our inability to control the weapon makes the ability to control the attacker, and most importantly their motivations, paramount. Look at why some countries have much lower violent crime rates. There are a lot of factors involved, but in stable nations it basically boils down to socioeconomic status and culture. If there's a perception of an inability to advance within the system like climbing the economic ladder, it can build to a point of action. That action may be non-violent protests, political turnover, outright military revolt, or anything in between. In the Middle Eastern Muslim countries, this frequently occurs with autocratic dictators and religious oligarchies pointing the finger at the West in order to shape the outcry from disenfranchised populations that pose a potential danger to the regime if left unchecked.
I think the West has two paradigms to chose from:
1. Effectively accept the current state of affairs and the occasional domestic attack as the price of current liberties. Minimize the actual war effort to maintain the status quo and reduce war footing as much as possible. Basically say "not my problem" to any unstable regions
2. Actively invest in long term sustainable but complex and nuanced solutions which target the underlying motivations for both political instability and radicalization motivations. This will almost certainly devolve into creating new problems as we attempt to solve old ones.
3. Kill 'em all and let God(s) sort it out. Alternatively known as Nuke it 'til it glows. (not serious)
[MENTION=5103]Satellite[/MENTION]; Bit of a low blow since Trump doesn't write his own tweets. The usual prayers and condolences are empty gestures anyway. The lack of proper punctuation irritates me more than the political miss step.