I know that the Islamic State really consists of terrible people, and that they are doing some unbelievably horrific things. They were described once (I believe by Secretary of State John Kerry, although I cannot say for sure) that they were "possibly genocidal" regime.
Whether or not they are, the fact of the matter is that however big a monster they have become, we helped to create them. They are fighting us with our old, discarded weapons, and they rose to power in large part due to the severe instability that we helped create in the region by going to war in Iraq in the first place, and destabilizing that country and, indeed, the entire region.
Given that kind of a track record, coupled with the fact that we seem unable to pay our bills, let alone add more expenses that we would need to pay for, war would be a terrible idea. It would inevitably destabilize the region, and there would be murder, rape, and needless suffering, with no promise that things would truly get better afterward. Over one hundred thousand were killed in Iraq during the war, and how many countless more were maimed or injured for life? For that matter, how many terrorists were created from their hatred of us, and all that we did to them there, in their home country?
At some point, we need to get past our delusions of grandeur and acknowledge that we have limitations, and that war (which, by the way, is considered a sin in all of the major western religions) perhaps is not such a great idea. It is supposed to be the absolute last resort. Instead, it is too often the first option put on the table. A dangerous game, and we have seen the results repeatedly.
Eric Alterman Warns: Pundits and Partisans Are Up to Old Tricks in Iraq June 19, 2014 by Eric Alterman
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