The War Against Islamic Extremism
“A Generational Battle...”
Islamic extremists are known by many different names. Whether they call themselves Al-Qaeda, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Isis, Boko- Haram, or Hamas or whatever other name they go by, they all have the same basic goals and beliefs.
Put simply, the main goal of all these groups is to take control of Muslim majority countries and combine the religion of Islam with the political aspects of government. This hybrid philosophy then becomes the blueprint for the day to day tasks of running a government. Once these groups have control, it becomes an easy matter to pass laws that give these governments complete control of the country and also of its citizens. Individual freedoms, such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the right to bear arms are either greatly curtailed or taken away altogether. Try revolting against an unjust and oppressive government without fire arms and see how far you get.
Another goal of these religious extremists is to implement Sharia Law which is a rather harsh form of Islam. Examples of the extreme harshness of these religious tenets are cutting off one’s hands for stealing, murdering homosexuals, and brutally oppressing women and religious minorities.
The use of terror, suicide bombings, torture, mass murder, and as we saw last month in New York, running people down with a motor vehicle are all on the table. I saw a news report recently which told about Isis fighters executing prisoners by running them over with a tank. For those of you who have not been in the military and have never seen a tank up close, you would have no idea of the pain that the victim would be forced to endure by being killed in this manner. Another example of their brutally is to put a prisoner in a cage, douse him with gasoline, and set him on fire. I could go on with other examples, but I trust my point has been made. Subjecting other human beings to this level of torture is beyond brutal. It is sick , demented, and inhumane. It shows in extremely stark terms, to what level of depravity these people ( I’m using the term loosely) have descended. It also shows that no method of murder is too heinous, that no torture is too brutal, and that no amount of suffering is too great.
I know someone quite well who has a background in psychology. I asked this person what term or disorder would describe beings such as these. The response I got was ‘“psychopaths” Whether these so called people were psychopaths before they became radicalized extremists, or became psychopaths after the fact or, became this way on the battlefield, I have no way knowing. It’s irrelevant at this point. They are psychopaths now, and as such, they are completely devoid of human feelings and have absolutely no redeeming human qualities whatsoever. They are so far gone emotionally that, in my opinion, they could never be reintegrated back into society. Returning these people to their home countries would be like putting a time bomb in the middle of Times Square, or downtown London or downtown Paris. You would know it was there, but you would never know when it was going to explode. Some people would describe letting these extremists back into their home countries as insane.
We are currently fighting this war against Islamic extremists on multiple fronts and on multiple continents. Instead of putting large numbers of boots on the ground, we are using special forces and advisors to train local forces to do the heavy fighting. This strategy seems to be working. Isis strongholds in Mosul and Raqqa, after months of heavy fighting, have been liberated. In addition, I just heard a news story that the last town held by Isis in Syria, has been taken.
This news story also stated that many Isis fighters had been killed and that the others were fleeing. Some of the fighters who survived will try to regroup with other members of Isis. Others, according to the Atlantic, are leaving the battlefield and are trying to re-enter their home countries. The US and its allies are actively trying to prevent this, preferring to deal with these Isis fighters on the battlefield. The rationale is simple. They don’t want these walking time bombs loose on their streets.
The idea, as I understand it, is to push Isis out of one location, killing as many as possible, and then follow them to the next location and do the same thing.The idea is to keep the pressure on, eliminating their funding and their access to supplies, giving them no respite.
After reading the last few paragraphs you probably think that I am just as brutal and cold hearted as the extremists that I am writing about. First of all, these people are not just fighting America and our allies in western Europe. It we were just fighting about land, or to put another way, geographic location, that would be one thing. They are fighting who we are, how we live, what we stand for, and what we believe in as nations. In other words, they are fighting our way of life. I think that kind of an attack has to be confronted. You have to understand the enemy that we”re fighting. These people have allowed themselves to become brainwashed by the propaganda and the recruitment videos and have also become so blinded by the ideology that they are unable to distinguish the difference between right and wrong. What other possible reason could there be for running people over with tanks, or burning people alive in cages. These people can’t be talked to. They can’t be reasoned with and they can’t be negotiated with. They are basically of one mind and virtually nothing, short of brute force, can distract or sway them from accomplishing their goal.
As I stated earlier in this post, I believe that this conflict will be a generational fight. These extremists are currently engaged in 17 countries. Over the course of time, the US and its allies along with US trained local forces, will rid these countries of the cancer we call Islamic extremism. These fighters will be killed or be forced out of those countries. I don’t how long this process will take, but I do know that we are the superior force and will eventually prevail.
The generational aspect of this war will be fought against so called “lone wolf” attackers and local terror cells. Some of these attacks will be stopped by law enforcement before they occur. Others, like the one that happened last month in New York, are going to sneak under the radar. We can’t be 100% effective. Some of the terrorists are going to be killed in the act. I can live with that. Those who survive and are captured, should be tried , convicted, and sentenced. In my view, the death penalty is too lenient. Also, it’s what the attackers want. They want to die for their cause. I would be in favor of life in prison without the possibility of parole. These are young men. Let them spend fifty or sixty years in a six by nine cell contemplating the error of their ways.
Finally, in case you didn’t know, WE ARE AT WAR. War means that people on both sides are going to die. People are going to die on the battlefield and people are also going to die here at home. It seems to me to be a wasted effort on the part of the extremists. The only way they can win is if the US and its allies surrender.The chances of that happening, if they exist at all, would be less than minute. That said, there is no way that these Islamic fighters can ever win. These young Muslims who are volunteering for this cause are throwing their lives away. It is my hope that they will see the futility of their situation, put down their weapons, and leave the battlefield.
Although the number of new Isis recruits is dwindling, there are still many young Muslim men who continue to volunteer and join the fight. Unfortunately, many of these young men are not going to return home. They will die on the battlefield, with some of them not even receiving a proper burial. These brave young men were aware of the fact that people who fight in wars sometimes die. Knowing this, they still chose to join the fight. It was their decision to die for their cause.
I have one more comment to direct towards any young Muslim who is considering joining this fight. You are being taken advantage of by the leaders of Isis. In other words, you are being conned. They use these on line recruitment videos and propaganda, which I’m sure you have seen, to entice you into joining this fight and to possibly give up your life. And for this they will pay you approximately $250 per month.
I say this because the leaders of Isis have been raking in tens of billions of dollars selling oil on the black market, human trafficking, the drug trade, donations, and God only knows what other sources of income they have. What did they do with all that money? My guess is that they are probably stashing it away and lining their own pockets. You just might want to consider this before signing up.
It is the goal of Islamic extremists to eventually create a world wide caliphate. It is the intention of the US and its allies not to let that happen. We enjoy living our lives in freedom and raising our families as we see fit. Herein lies the crux of the dispute. This generational war boils down to a war of wills. They want a world wide caliphate and we don’t. Their young men are continuing to volunteer and die and we’re killing them. Therefore, in my opinion, it has become a simple matter of who will tire of this first. In order for these extremists to win the US and its allies would have to surrender. This is not going to happen. My advice to any young Muslims who are thinking of joining this fight is to just stay home. This is a war you can’t win. Don’t throw your life away.