[Suzi]

I find this recent muslim ISIS group very scary. I choose not to get into the debate about how long we have been aware of this group, but now that we all are aware of their march through Syria and Iraq, their brutality and growth, what are we going to do? If their goal is to conquer the world, spread Islam only and kill anyone who is another faith, how long before it hits our shores?

What is your take on this whole thing? Doesn't it seem like their fundemantalist movement is gaining speed in the Mid-east?

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I'm glad to see that our president is finally taking some action to at least help those poor souls being held captive on a mountain with no food, water or shelter.

I don't know what the answer is beyond that, but we spent a lot of money and gave a lot lot of lives to oust the Hussein regime and install a democratically elected government. Are we now supposed to sit back and allow all of that work and sacrifice to got to waste?

I don't like the idea of another ground war, but I also don't like the idea of parents, wives and husbands of those who gave their lives to bring democracy to Iraq seeing that their loved ones died for no reason.

Back in the 80s, Colin Powell told GHW Bush that if we invaded Iraq, we would own it. A decade later he supported the UN action and I'm afraid that he was right. We invaded it and now we own it.

[nicoletta]

Iran owns it..as WE exited ..IRAN sent fighters across ..we did IRAN a favor I fear

[Chi-Town]

When Hussein was in power there was no Isis and no al Qaeda. There was a powerful dictator with an iron fist. Iran was a mortal enemy. We took him out for the flimsiest of reasons, and I would be hard pressed to consider the new government a democracy by any means. And to go back in and try it again is some form of insanity.

[Madelaine Amee]

Originally Posted by Chi-Town

When Hussein was in power there was no Isis and no al Qaeda. There was a powerful dictator with an iron fist. Iran was a mortal enemy. We took him out for the flimsiest of reasons, and I would be hard pressed to consider the new government a democracy by any means. And to go back in and try it again is some form of insanity.

It is a mess of gigantic proportions and, in my opinion, was caused by our greed for their OIL. I am very glad I don't have to make the decisions about how to handle it. Al Qaeda were bad enough, now these crazies appear ...............

[OCsun]

Originally Posted by Chi-Town

When Hussein was in power there was no Isis and no al Qaeda. There was a powerful dictator with an iron fist. Iran was a mortal enemy. We took him out for the flimsiest of reasons, and I would be hard pressed to consider the new government a democracy by any means. And to go back in and try it again is some form of insanity.

[karostay]

As a nation we unleashed a more evil Jeanie out of the bottle now the world has to deal with it.We should have stayed out of it

[blueash]

If we don't go in then evil anti-American people will take control and one nation after another will fall to their ruthless armies and crush their freedom loving population. We are all old enough to remember that line from Vietnam where we propped up one incompetent government after another and sacrificed about 60,000 soldiers. Then we left and now Vietnam is a vibrant economy and there was certainly no domino effect that negatively impacted our national security nor interests. We have backed out of conflicts with a cost of both lives and treasure (see Beirut 1984 ). We need not go back in to somehow justify the sacrifices we sadly have already made. Is showing how tough we can be in imposing our will against Muslims going to be the test for succeeding in politics like being anti-Communist was in the '50s?

[Steve9930]

Hind sight is like a rear view mirror always 20/20. So to blame anyone at this point about what we should have or shouldn't have done is a total waste of time. The important thing is to do the right thing now. The president has taken a good first step. I hope he will escalate the support for especially the Kurds if necessary. The Kurds are probably one of our best allies in the region. They are very good fighters and if we supply them with the equipment they should get the job done. Make no mistake this new group ISIS is no JV unit. They are well organized, well funded, and well trained. They are a major threat and should they take complete control in the region the dynamics in the reagion are going to change and not for the good. This may require boots on the ground as we cannot let ISIS win this fight. The first approach is to make sure those that are fighting against ISIS get the equipment they need to wage the battle. If we ignore this threat we will be very sorry in the future. ISIS will strike the USA if they get a chance and they will have no problem with killing anyone, that includes women and children. One of the biggest threat to us currently is there is at least 100 Americans fighting with ISIS. These individuals will be very hard to identify if they decide to return to wage war inside the US. This is a very scary time in history. With the trouble in Iraq, Russia, and Israel one cannot wonder whether the end time may be just around the corner.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Originally Posted by Steve9930

Hind sight is like a rear view mirror always 20/20. So to blame anyone at this point about what we should have or shouldn't have done is a total waste of time. The important thing is to do the right thing now. The president has taken a good first step. I hope he will escalate the support for especially the Kurds if necessary. The Kurds are probably one of our best allies in the region. They are very good fighters and if we supply them with the equipment they should get the job done. Make no mistake this new group ISIS is no JV unit. They are well organized, well funded, and well trained. They are a major threat and should they take complete control in the region the dynamics in the reagion are going to change and not for the good. This may require boots on the ground as we cannot let ISIS win this fight. The first approach is to make sure those that are fighting against ISIS get the equipment they need to wage the battle. If we ignore this threat we will be very sorry in the future. ISIS will strike the USA if they get a chance and they will have no problem with killing anyone, that includes women and children. One of the biggest threat to us currently is there is at least 100 Americans fighting with ISIS. These individuals will be very hard to identify if they decide to return to wage war inside the US. This is a very scary time in history. With the trouble in Iraq, Russia, and Israel one cannot wonder whether the end time may be just around the corner.

This about sums it up.

[Steve9930]

Originally Posted by blueash

If we don't go in then evil anti-American people will take control and one nation after another will fall to their ruthless armies and crush their freedom loving population. We are all old enough to remember that line from Vietnam where we propped up one incompetent government after another and sacrificed about 60,000 soldiers. Then we left and now Vietnam is a vibrant economy and there was certainly no domino effect that negatively impacted our national security nor interests. We have backed out of conflicts with a cost of both lives and treasure (see Beirut 1984 ). We need not go back in to somehow justify the sacrifices we sadly have already made. Is showing how tough we can be in imposing our will against Muslims going to be the test for succeeding in politics like being anti-Communist was in the '50s?

The enemy we face today is far different then who we faced in the past. We were on the brink in Vietnam of making the North throw in the towel had we just continued to bomb them just a bit longer. ISIS is different as there is little we can do to ware them down. There is no point in at which they say, I'm tired of the fight, I want to stop. They are barbaric in their tactics, they have no compassion for their enemy, and they believe, really believe, that what they are doing is God's will. If they die in this battle they will be rewarded. We are in a real war and should we think otherwise we will be sorry. We are about to enter a holy war. There is no way to appease ISIS except if your dead.

[onslowe]

I do not think this situation can be seen in any way as imperialism by the US. This is protection of Americans there and finally, at last thank God, protection of Iraqi Christians who are being killed and oppressed by crazed Muslims as though it were the eighth century.

It is self interest and a moral, yes moral duty for those of us who don't believe that "everything is relative" and one religion is as bad or good as the next a la the embarrassingly silly "C*O*E*X*I*S*T bumper stickers.

In the eighth century and later, Muslims spread into Europe, and were only stopped by force not wishful thinking. I have concerns now about history repeating itself especially when I neither hear nor read of any supposedly moderate Muslims denouncing the violence. Silence in America, Europe, and of course, the Mid East. I am repeatedly told those 'voices' exist and are here… really?

[bluedog103]

Originally Posted by Steve9930

Hind sight is like a rear view mirror always 20/20. So to blame anyone at this point about what we should have or shouldn't have done is a total waste of time. The important thing is to do the right thing now. The president has taken a good first step. I hope he will escalate the support for especially the Kurds if necessary. The Kurds are probably one of our best allies in the region. They are very good fighters and if we supply them with the equipment they should get the job done. Make no mistake this new group ISIS is no JV unit. They are well organized, well funded, and well trained. They are a major threat and should they take complete control in the region the dynamics in the reagion are going to change and not for the good. This may require boots on the ground as we cannot let ISIS win this fight. The first approach is to make sure those that are fighting against ISIS get the equipment they need to wage the battle. If we ignore this threat we will be very sorry in the future. ISIS will strike the USA if they get a chance and they will have no problem with killing anyone, that includes women and children. One of the biggest threat to us currently is there is at least 100 Americans fighting with ISIS. These individuals will be very hard to identify if they decide to return to wage war inside the US. This is a very scary time in history. With the trouble in Iraq, Russia, and Israel one cannot wonder whether the end time may be just around the corner.

Well thought out post. I wish our leaders were as insightful.

[sunnyatlast]

Originally Posted by Chi-Town

When Hussein was in power there was no Isis and no al Qaeda. There was a powerful dictator with an iron fist. Iran was a mortal enemy. We took him out for the flimsiest of reasons, and I would be hard pressed to consider the new government a democracy by any means. And to go back in and try it again is some form of insanity.

"When Hussein was in power there was no Isis and no al Qaeda." Yeah. Right. That's why Pres. Clinton was trying to get Bin Laden way back in the 1990s.

"Al-Qaeda (/ælˈkaɪdə/ al-ky-də; Arabic: القاعدة‎ al-qāʿidah, Arabic: [ælqɑːʕɪdɐ], translation: "The Base" and alternatively spelled al-Qaida and sometimes al-Qa'ida) is a global militant Islamist and Wahhabist organization founded by Osama bin Laden, Abdullah Azzam, and several other militants, at some point between August 1988 and late 1989, with its origins being traceable to the Soviet war in Afghanistan. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Wahhabi Muslim movement calling for global jihad and a strict interpretation of sharia law. It has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United Nations Security Council, NATO, the European Union, the United States, Russia, India and various other countries (see below). Al-Qaeda has carried out many attacks targets it considers kafir. Amidst the Syrian civil war, Al-Qaeda factions started fighting each other, as well as the Kurds and government.

Al-Qaeda has attacked civilian and military targets in various countries, including the September 11 attacks, 1998 U.S. embassy bombings and the 2002 Bali bombings." wikipedia

[Tennisnut]

Originally Posted by blueash

If we don't go in then evil anti-American people will take control and one nation after another will fall to their ruthless armies and crush their freedom loving population. We are all old enough to remember that line from Vietnam where we propped up one incompetent government after another and sacrificed about 60,000 soldiers. Then we left and now Vietnam is a vibrant economy and there was certainly no domino effect that negatively impacted our national security nor interests. We have backed out of conflicts with a cost of both lives and treasure (see Beirut 1984 ). We need not go back in to somehow justify the sacrifices we sadly have already made. Is showing how tough we can be in imposing our will against Muslims going to be the test for succeeding in politics like being anti-Communist was in the '50s?

I agree!! Sometimes we do learn from past history. Hopefully, we will not make the same mistakes again with American blood.