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Wednesday, November 18, 2015

The Nation: Laila Lalami- 'To Defeat ISIS, We Must Call Both Western and Muslim Leaders to Account'

Source:The Nation- Love instead of peace, is that the idea here?
Source:The New Democrat

"What happened in Paris on November 13 has happened before, in a shopping district of Beirut on November 12, in the skies over Egypt on October 31, at a cultural center in Turkey on July 20, a beach resort in Tunisia on June 26—and nearly every day in Syria for the last four years."

From The Nation

"After the attacks in Paris, some in ISIS are emboldened and have uploaded a video threatening further attacks. Specifically on Washington, D.C. We must remain vigilant and not be terrorized. Cenk Uygur, host of the The Young Turks, breaks it down. Tell us what you think in the comment section below.

"The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) warns in a new video that countries, including the U.S., that are taking part in Syrian airstrikes will suffer the same fate as France.

"We say to the states that take part in the crusader campaign that, by God, you will have a day, God willing, like France's and, by God, as we struck France in the center of its abode in Paris, then we swear that we will strike America at its center in Washington," a man said in the video,according to Reuters.

The authenticity of the video could not be immediately verified.”*

From Cenk Uygur at The Young Turks

Source:The Young Turks- ISIS Islamist leaders
I watched Senator John McCain, whose not exactly amateur when it comes to national security and foreign policy experience and knowledge, give a speech on the Senate floor today about the Paris attack and ISIS. Because I’m a current affairs blogger who has better things to do than watch celebrity TV and mess around with my smartphone all day. And I guess it was half-hour speech and in it he said one thing that I agree with him other than the non-controversial lines that, “if America is strong and together we can defeat ISIS.”

The part in Senator McCain’s speech that I liked was calling for a no-fly zone over Syria back in 2011. He and Senator Lindsey Graham, another heavyweight on these issues, might have been the only two members of Congress in either chamber to had support that back in 2011. Not last year, or even in 2013 when President Obama called for a new war against ISIS. But failed to get the support from it in Congress.

Laila Lalami, in her column in The Nation today, (not exactly a neoconservative publication) said that Saudi Arabia is a big reason for the creation of ISIS. That is true with their Far-Right Wahabi version of Islam that encourages Sunni Muslims to treat women and non-Sunnis like trash. And they’ve spread this horrible ideology in their schools and give money to private Wahabi groups and have been an inspiration for ISIS. I’m not saying that had America as part of NATO along with Turkey and perhaps help from the Arab League, had they took part in a Syrian no-fly zone back in 2011 and that America went after Saudi Arabia through sanctions or whatever else when it came to Wahhabism, that Syria would be a peaceful stable country today. But Bashar Al-Assad, would certainly be out of power and hopefully rotting in a Syrian desert prison right now.

You don’t defeat a group like ISIS, by slapping them on their hands and saying, “you’re bad! Don’t do it again, or else!” When they punch you, you knock them out and take it to them. You go with the Colin Powell doctrine of full and and overwhelming force. America can’t do this by ourselves, but we sure as hell have a major role here to prevent ISIS from hitting Washington, or New York, like they hit Paris. We, Europe, the Arab League, Kurdistan, Iraq and Turkey, need to be over there and frankly kicking ass in the air and on the ground. Until ISIS is no longer running any part of Iraq or Syria and Bashar Al-Assad’s brutal evil regime is out of power in Syria. And Congress needs to get off their asses and stop Monday morning quarterbacking and pass a resolution in the House and Senate that gives President Obama the authority to work with Europe and the Arab League to get this done.