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SomethingFishy

(4,876 posts)
Thu Sep 11, 2014, 01:17 PM Sep 2014

Call me shocked. Counterterrorism Experts claim ISIS threat "distorted" and "a farce" [View all]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/11/world/middleeast/struggling-to-gauge-isis-threat-even-as-us-prepares-to-act.html?_r=2

"WASHINGTON — The violent ambitions of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria have been condemned across the world: in Europe and the Middle East, by Sunni nations and Shiite ones, and by sworn enemies like Israel and Iran. Pope Francis joined the call for ISIS to be stopped.

But as President Obama prepares to send the United States on what could be a yearslong military campaign against the militant group, American intelligence agencies have concluded that it poses no immediate threat to the United States. Some officials and terrorism experts believe that the actual danger posed by ISIS has been distorted in hours of television punditry and alarmist statements by politicians, and that there has been little substantive public debate about the unintended consequences of expanding American military action in the Middle East"

Daniel Benjamin, who served as the State Department’s top counterterrorism adviser during Mr. Obama’s first term, said the public discussion about the ISIS threat has been a “farce,” with “members of the cabinet and top military officers all over the place describing the threat in lurid terms that are not justified.”

Personally, I'm sure they are wrong and the only thing keeping us safe is Ted Nugent and his band of armed idiots.


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Kick whatchamacallit Sep 2014 #1
Nuh uh! gratuitous Sep 2014 #2
Check out these simpering wimps! Who would be scared of THEM? FrodosPet Sep 2014 #34
Warning: I don't click on blind, anonymous links gratuitous Sep 2014 #39
That sounds more comfortable than sticking my head in the sand FrodosPet Sep 2014 #46
Is whatever you're wetting your pants about better or worse than this? gratuitous Sep 2014 #50
These troops are evil as well, and need to spend decades in prison FrodosPet Sep 2014 #51
Yes, they WERE court martialed for doing that. FrodosPet Sep 2014 #52
The Marine Corps DID make a recruiting video out of that gratuitous Sep 2014 #53
We are NEVER going to be safe in this universe FrodosPet Sep 2014 #60
Please explain how ISIS could start a nuclear war. JDPriestly Sep 2014 #67
Please explain how ISIS could start a nuclear war On the Road Sep 2014 #82
Thanks. A lot of ifs, but thannks. JDPriestly Sep 2014 #84
Well, It Makes Them Subject to Nuclear Attack for Certain Reasons On the Road Sep 2014 #107
Interesting. ISIS, I suspect is more like a gang than a state, but it could develop into JDPriestly Sep 2014 #112
Yes clearly we must live in fear. phil89 Sep 2014 #56
You have a good point. No need for fear. FrodosPet Sep 2014 #57
That is fucking horrific .. a caption might have helped. Lenomsky Sep 2014 #118
The threat of terrorism to the US is absolutely minimal, though it most definitely exists. MohRokTah Sep 2014 #3
Which is just what Obama said, but not the pundits. They know better! freshwest Sep 2014 #11
We didn't even get any color-coded threat levels! leftstreet Sep 2014 #4
Personally, I think they were hired by Dick Cheney BuelahWitch Sep 2014 #5
I think you're on the right track with this They_Live Sep 2014 #87
Most likely truer than any of us can imagine. freebrew Sep 2014 #121
But..but..we must DO SOMETHING!! However, stupid and self defeating it may be. Tierra_y_Libertad Sep 2014 #6
Oh man, you made me laugh... SomethingFishy Sep 2014 #10
We have to pave the way for Enthusiast Sep 2014 #15
... woo me with science Sep 2014 #23
I was wondering about that treestar Sep 2014 #7
Check out any right-wingnut source canuckledragger Sep 2014 #62
Yep treestar Sep 2014 #70
At least they are not calling them libodem Sep 2014 #8
This is all about taking out Assad...imho n/t Oilwellian Sep 2014 #9
BINGO! I think Assad is the primary target mazzarro Sep 2014 #22
Nooooo no way can't be azurnoir Sep 2014 #12
I know. Enthusiast Sep 2014 #14
Kicked and recommended a whole bunch! Enthusiast Sep 2014 #13
Well they are a threat to stability in the ME flamingdem Sep 2014 #16
How can you threaten the stability of an unstable region? FlatStanley Sep 2014 #27
IS isn't much of a direct threat to the United States. Laelth Sep 2014 #17
Respectfully, that isn't going to get me on board... SomethingFishy Sep 2014 #20
That's the nature of our republic, I suppose. Laelth Sep 2014 #21
Then the energy companies can pay for it. Let them hire blackwater directly. grahamhgreen Sep 2014 #25
And pass the costs on to us through higher energy costs NickB79 Sep 2014 #64
Exactly! Thus bringing down the cost of wind & solar further! They need to pay, we should not grahamhgreen Sep 2014 #71
Our allies can protect their own interests here. They have overwhelming air superiority TheKentuckian Sep 2014 #49
Exactly. Not our job! n/t A Simple Game Sep 2014 #63
Someone, somewhere, somehow doesn't like us!!! Spitfire of ATJ Sep 2014 #18
The NSA? L0oniX Sep 2014 #69
Not the way they trade our naked pictures. Spitfire of ATJ Sep 2014 #113
Who says this? OilemFirchen Sep 2014 #19
Oh my. Autumn Sep 2014 #24
All BS all the time malaise Sep 2014 #26
Same as always ... Scuba Sep 2014 #28
+1 Excellent deutsey Sep 2014 #31
How odd pscot Sep 2014 #41
Best description of my feelings concerning this and every other propaganda-driven adventure BrotherIvan Sep 2014 #44
You can show that to Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.. Cha Sep 2014 #81
Nobody's right all the time. Scuba Sep 2014 #96
That's exactly right.. like this "expert" in the OP.. I'm going with Bernie, Elizabeth, and the Cha Sep 2014 #100
Don't agree with him at all. We're ballyhoo Sep 2014 #97
"..being conned.." Oh, you mean like Putin is Conning all the internetz Warriors for him? Cha Sep 2014 #101
There's roughly 40-45 of them here, including me, so I ballyhoo Sep 2014 #102
Get Your Red Hot Putin Propaganda Right Here.. Cha Sep 2014 #105
Yeah, I know who he is.... ballyhoo Sep 2014 #108
Exactly! ctsnowman Sep 2014 #117
Disaster capitalism. eom littlemissmartypants Sep 2014 #29
That is exactly what it is. In spades. ballyhoo Sep 2014 #103
Senators Bernie Sanders and Warren agree with President Obama Cha Sep 2014 #111
Not impressed, cha. nt littlemissmartypants Sep 2014 #114
I've heard other ME experts debunk the hype growing around ISIS deutsey Sep 2014 #30
That applies to their tactical capabilities. Not to the atrocities they cause. randome Sep 2014 #32
This is bad - send in the UN toby jo Sep 2014 #33
The U.N. has some resources but not on our scale. randome Sep 2014 #35
Of course VA_Jill Sep 2014 #36
I Have Long Thought DallasNE Sep 2014 #37
Every American President in the past quarter century has now gone on television during prime time to J_J_ Sep 2014 #38
. . . ya *think*?? bvf Sep 2014 #40
Oh, who could have guessed? Atman Sep 2014 #42
K&R! G_j Sep 2014 #43
ISIL deaniac21 Sep 2014 #45
They are joined by those who hate the United States. ballyhoo Sep 2014 #110
k G_j Sep 2014 #47
I give this one the Goebbels award... L0oniX Sep 2014 #48
+1000 bobduca Sep 2014 #68
Bullshit.. you can give that to Senator Bernie Sanders, too.. Cha Sep 2014 #80
who cares if Sanders and Warren are on board? Vattel Sep 2014 #88
+10000000 ballyhoo Sep 2014 #109
Let the Iranians and Saudis solve the problem. roamer65 Sep 2014 #54
Then we can become friends with whoever is left at the end! FrodosPet Sep 2014 #59
Not a threat to the US. At least certainly not now. They are a threat to women, gay & Shiite humans pampango Sep 2014 #55
Too bad. So sad. FrodosPet Sep 2014 #58
No sh!t, Sherlock! But the MIC must be fed. And it's very, very HUNGRY!!! blkmusclmachine Sep 2014 #61
As Einstein so eloquently said... 99Forever Sep 2014 #65
Bookmarked for later Raven Sep 2014 #66
yea GummyBearz Sep 2014 #72
What a brilliant comeback! Seriously, with forward thinking like that SomethingFishy Sep 2014 #73
Sure GummyBearz Sep 2014 #86
Wow... yeah you hit that nerve people do SomethingFishy Sep 2014 #94
Great point GummyBearz Sep 2014 #95
Haskell Wexler interview maddiemom Sep 2014 #115
Does he mean the smoking gun won't come in the form of a mushroom cloud? marmar Sep 2014 #74
But they took babies out of the incubators!!! U4ikLefty Sep 2014 #75
knr Douglas Carpenter Sep 2014 #76
He also praised the drone program in his talk. KittyWampus Sep 2014 #77
The "Experts" Praised the Drone Program.. well the OP should love that. Cha Sep 2014 #79
Why would the Saudis take care of the problem Aerows Sep 2014 #91
Some days, it seems like we've become the Saudi's adjunct army suffragette Sep 2014 #119
Senator Sanders disagrees.. Cha Sep 2014 #78
News flash: Sanders and Warren not infallible! Vattel Sep 2014 #89
I agree greytdemocrat Sep 2014 #83
Iraq Invasion Part 2 bobGandolf Sep 2014 #85
Tell that to the folks in Mosul. DCBob Sep 2014 #90
Threaten to send in the police. Aerows Sep 2014 #92
Why is it our business AnalystInParadise Sep 2014 #99
I was replying to the subject of the op that the threat of ISIS is a "farce". DCBob Sep 2014 #116
Lying to us, always, is the new normal. 99Forever Sep 2014 #93
ISIS is 878,000 times worse than Hitler nikto Sep 2014 #98
K&R. lob1 Sep 2014 #104
Groundhog's Day. john kale Sep 2014 #106
It's a farce because they all wear similar Halloween costumes Amonester Sep 2014 #120
this needs a J_J_ Sep 2014 #122
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