Take a look at what Marie Harf, spokeswoman for the State Department said. She then suggested we focus on the “root of the problem” their poor economy… and help them get jobs. Thoughts?!
As a matter of fact, I do have a few thoughts on this subject (I know; shocking, eh?)…and it’s informed by the astonishingly kneejerk reaction of many of the commenters. Of course, this is a Facebook page for a Fox Business Channel show, and Stuart Varney is known more his smug arrogance than anything resembling forethought, reason, and bipartisanship. The graphic and the question were framed in such a way as to elicit negative responses…and the faithful certainly didn’t disappoint.
Despite the vile invective directed as Ms. Harf, she’s absolutely spot on. The threat posed to the West by radical Islamic terrorism isn’t something we can kill our way out of…unless we’re prepared to exterminate virtually every Muslim in the Middle East. What those who responded fail to recognize is that the truth of this is already being illustrated throughout the region. The more ISIS/ISIL militants are killed, the more step up to take their place. Unless we’re willing to engage in wholesale slaughter of a nature not seen since the Crusades, killing won’t solve the problem.
Those familiar with the Middle East recognize that the biggest reason for the rise in Islamic fundamentalism is that lack of economic opportunities in the region. In some places, young people have little hope of being able to do something productive with their lives, and like our mothers always told us, idle hands are the Devil’s workshop. Combine angry, frustrated young men with slick recruiting videos and pitches promising opportunity and the chance to make a difference, and what you have is a recipe for militancy and religious zealotry virtually unparalleled in modern times.
What I find fascinating about the comments on this post was that I couldn’t find a single mention of Christian terrorism, which poses a far greater threat to the Homeland. Then again, Christians by definition can’t be terrorists…but ALL Muslims ARE terrorists.
The comments are nothing if not illustration of the truth that ‘tis better to be thought a fool than to post a comment on Facebook and remove and and all lingering doubt:
She is as crazy as the pres.
She truly needs a mental evaluation if she really believes that!!
I’m axed daily by the stupidity of this administration. Holy crap
Wow…I’m sure they have this pinned on their bulletin board at ISIS headquarters. Geez
America is being ran by hippies!!
I think there must be a virus around that fries our young peoples brains so they can’t see reality and think things through. Another thing most of them do not believe the stories of what really happened during the wars before we had to be politically correct and think wars are just a game! I feel so badly for them when they finally understand the truth of what evil is and how it WILL impact them one day.
WTF is wrong with this administration? Stop passing out lollipops and kick some effn ass already!!
I’m laughing too hard to respond to her brillant analogy! Oh, she’s a blond to boot.
Oh yeah, perfect solution, I am sure they will drop their weapons and come running to us with gratitude after they get jobs!!! Lol after all doesn’t everyone kill people when they are unemployed? What idiots we have running this country!
Next this bitch will want a unicorn for a pet
Sure, one could accuse me of picking out the worst, most hateful and egregiously ignorant comments and passing them off as a representative sample. Sadly, I just grabbed ten random comments out of the 1779 comments in place when I read the post…and these truly are representative of the sort of collective intellectual and moral vacancy displayed by the commenters. It’s not that these misguided folks are Conservatives or Fox News Channel addicts- though that’s likely the case. No, the truth is that they simply haven’t learned the lessons of history…and the truth is that you can’t kill your way out of a problem. Genocide as a strategy is as ineffective as it is thoroughly inhuman and immoral. It’s the stuff war crimes are made of.
Marie Harf Declines Morning Joe’s Offer to ‘Take a Mulligan’ on ISIS Comments http://t.co/WXsax1F4WX (VIDEO) pic.twitter.com/X06TKN0rVu
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) February 18, 2015
In the world of radical Islam, being killed in the service of Allah means becoming a martyr, which means serving as inspiration for yet more zealots willing to follow in your footsteps and sacrifice their life for Allah. Kill one and more emerge…so how could the West possibly formulate a strategy based on killing as many ISIS/ISIL fighters as possible? They’ve already shown that they don’t fear death and that they hold the lives of Westerners and non-Muslims beneath contempt. If we’re to have any hope of defeating ISIS/ISIL in particular and radical Islam in general, we must have a strategy that addresses the root causes of the problem. Bloodletting will only beget more bloodletting. The problem and threat will remain and indeed will only increase over time.
Bloodlust and the desire to destroy Islam is all well and good, but we could kill millions and the problem would remain largely unsolved. Do we REALLY want to engage in genocide?
Marie Harf is right, and I applaud her for stating what should be universally recognized. Of course, for those ‘Murricans for whom violence is the solution to virtually every foreign problem, killing must seem like an easy way to eradicate those who wish to destroy us. If only it was the simple and easy.
Killing and more killing will only exacerbate the problem. Genocide will not only not make ISIS/ISIL disappear, it would feed into their narrative (and recruiting pitch) that Islam is under attack from the West, and that the faithful must stand up and defend Allah. Even worse, it would turn us into the very monsters we profess to hate. There’s no way to defeat an enemy if you have to become them in order to do so…because in the end, the enemy is us.
