What, exactly, are we afraid of?
Sep 2, 2014, 5:33 PM | Updated: 6:11 pm
For the past few weeks, I feel like I’m being sold something. Left alone, ISIS will soon be marching down Camelback Road waving its black flag and imposing Sharia law. Give me a break.
Let’s acknowledge a few things. ISIS are VERY bad guys, possibly the worst. They kill indiscriminately, have a prehistoric world view and are a threat to many nations and peoples in that part of the world. Emphasis THAT PART OF THE WORLD.
Yes, they murdered American journalists and we should be outraged at their barbaric actions, but allow me to point out he went to their backyard on their own free will, knowing fully how dangerous a war zone could be and sadly became pawns in this battle for Iraq.
But the folks telling me that ISIS is an existential threat to the American way of life are overselling this a bit, methinks. Assuming ISIS wants to do harm to America, what are its operational capabilities? Does ISIS have a navy or air force? Will they be storming the shores of New Jersey? Of course not.
They will resort to the same tactics of terror that we have seen before AND have spent billions of dollars (not to mention TONS of civil liberties) to protect ourselves from.
And I’d argue, just as we’ve seen with al-Qaida, “defeating” them on the battlefield does little to nothing to reduce the threat of terrorism back home. In fact, there are a few people out there who argue the reason the United States remains a target for terrorism is exactly because we continue to fight them in their homeland.
Unlike the great wars of the past, the so-called war on terror has no end, no defined borders or obvious soldiers. By that very nature the idea that air strikes, tanks and boots on the ground can defeat an ideology is silly at best, ignorant at worst.
The Middle East is a mess of Biblical proportions (literally and figuratively) and if the people in that region don’t have the desire or ability to fight for their own well-being, why should it be up to the United States to save them?
And what makes you think the situation will improve in a year, 10 years, 100 years? All we are doing is exposing ourselves to more attacks on Americans and American interests against an enemy that doesn’t hate us for “our way of life,” but rather hates us for blowing up their brothers.
It’s time we do what is in OUR national interest and protect ourselves against REAL threats to America.