A very dangerous world

LARRY ANDERSON
Larry Anderson

Americans should be concerned by the direction events are taking in the Middle East.

We have seen mass executions, beheadings, burnings, and a spray of radical propaganda unequaled since the politics of hatred espoused by Adolf Hitler 80 years ago.

While the behavior of the Islamic State — IS, ISIS, ISIL — is horrific, we hope it is not an immediate threat to the homeland. But things have a way of growing, and when they expand too fast, unchecked, the probability of serious trouble often manifests.

Are we too far removed from World War II to remember how this works?

We need to be aware not only of how the militaristic politics are unfolding, but how our leadership and that of other nations are confronting this storm of evil.

Ostensibly, President Obama is trying to keep this country out of another protracted war. He certainly hasn’t rushed into anything; there are no boots on the ground confronting the ISIS threat in Syria and Iraq, although bombing was authorized weeks ago. A handful of other countries have joined this effort which seems half-hearted.

There is a crisis of available information. News reporters either can’t get into the region or wisely refuse to go. Some journalists there have lost their lives in gruesome ways.

Not knowing much makes sidelines evaluation hit-and-miss at best.

That said, the war in Syria has been going on for years, and ISIS has been expanding in territory taken and numbers recruited. The danger is growing, not diminishing, as far as I can tell.

The president needs some rope to see if diplomacy and allied and economic steps work in dealing with these fanatics as they construct their caliphate atop the graves of those they hate, which is practically everyone.

The question is how much time should Obama take before he exercises the military option?

How much power and territory must be conceded, and, more importantly, how many outrageous acts of murder should the world endure?

I, like Obama, see this as a world problem that should be confronted by an enraged alliance of nations determined to eliminate a scourge before it becomes too powerful to compromise without world-wide conflict.

So! Where’s the U. N.?

I think we all understand that appeasement, politically correct language, and platitudes about not judging the whole by the work of a few are fine as far as they go. The problem is these things only work with those interested in them.

ISIS couldn’t care less. They want to kill and burn.

These facts may be too nuanced for the president and his flock to grasp. They may be insisting the key to understanding ISIS lies in economics rather than its fanatical religious perspective and pursuit of power.

Here’s what Marie Harf, White House spokesperson, said recently: “We cannot kill our way out of this war. We need … to go after the root causes that leads people to join these groups, whether it’s lack of opportunities for jobs, whether … to help improve their governance … .help them build their economies so they have job opportunities for these people.”

Of course, that is nothing more than a projection of the liberal ideal that there are no bad people in the world, only those denied opportunity.

Note to Harf: One can be poor and not be a murderer.

Note to Harf: There is such a thing as evil.

Harf’s comments speak only to the Left‘s failed and peculiar ideology.

The idea of redistributing wealth (and that is her point) has nothing to do with ISIS’ fanaticism. That is based on interpretive religion.

Besides, the murderers who form ISIS already have a job: It is spreading their radical world view and murdering those who stand in their way regardless of nationality or faith.

The notion that other nations, led by the U.S., of course, should redefine the economies of a dozen or so countries at our expense is absurd. We don’t have means to develop economies in nations that despise us and do not want us putting our noses in their affairs.

To them, we are the problem.

Obama has emphasized over and over that America is not at war with Islam but with violent extremism.

Got it.

He has said we should not judge the whole religion by the actions of ISIS or the Taliban or any splinter group.

Got it.

The world needs “more voices of tolerance and peace.”

Got it.

Note to Obama: No one is saying all Muslims are bad. No one.

The thing is, ISIS does not want peace.

Its validation comes from war and death and the understanding that if one side wants war, even when the other side wants peace, there will be war.

Every time.

Larry W. Anderson believes if there is a coalition of nations against ISIS, they should act like a coalition against ISIS.