General Discussion

Orsino

(37,428 posts)

14. If all you're selling is shock and awe, you can't back-pedal.

Tue Feb 3, 2015, 02:33 PM

Feb 2015

Does reality TV get more reasonable? Do billionaires ever start stealing less? Do our wars ever get more just?

ISIL has nowhere to go but more brutal, or by their only definition of strength, they look weak.

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Islamic State is deliberately trying to provoke outrage. [View all] MineralMan Feb 2015 OP

And it's working. I can hear the bloodthirsty howls right here. Comrade Grumpy Feb 2015 #1

The problem is that a group willing to do this sort of thing will gain power until it is stopped Yo_Mama Feb 2015 #31

Message auto-removed Name removed Feb 2015 #81

I agree. CJCRANE Feb 2015 #2

We need to sing louder! Ykcutnek Feb 2015 #3

I said the same thing and got hidden. nt Dreamer Tatum Feb 2015 #4

Exactly the same thing? MineralMan Feb 2015 #7

Why would I inflame people more? nt Dreamer Tatum Feb 2015 #9

I don't know. But this thread was not hidden. MineralMan Feb 2015 #51

As long as they are trying to hold territory they are vulnerable. stevenleser Feb 2015 #5

There is a corollary to this that is also true metalbot Feb 2015 #43

In this case, there are existing armies in the field. Kurds, Syria, other rebels in Syria, Iraq army stevenleser Feb 2015 #61

of course they are WDIM Feb 2015 #6

^^THIS^^^ 2naSalit Feb 2015 #27

So The End Times are here and lets' just give it all up? So, why are you posting on a blog about it? Fred Sanders Feb 2015 #57

well said guillaumeb Feb 2015 #64

exactly^^^ WDIM Feb 2015 #75

Send in the drones!!! benz380 Feb 2015 #8

Wish I had said that guillaumeb Feb 2015 #65

And to provoke fear aint_no_life_nowhere Feb 2015 #10

ISIS is numerous factions created by the very parties who are now bombing it. leveymg Feb 2015 #11

Perhaps. If so, the creation is biting its creator. MineralMan Feb 2015 #12

Reminds me of the Night of the Long Knives (1934), but the party doing the "cleansing" leveymg Feb 2015 #16

Yes, perhaps. What followed was terrible, and might have been stopped. MineralMan Feb 2015 #19

That's what covert operations are for. But, alas, they often blow back leveymg Feb 2015 #42

As I said, we muck up everything we do in the Middle East. MineralMan Feb 2015 #46

On that, we agree. leveymg Feb 2015 #49

+1 forthemiddle Feb 2015 #76

This logic is completely silly. When you burn your hand, do you leave it on the stove Dreamer Tatum Feb 2015 #13

I'm not sure ISIS is really viewed as a "mistake" in some quarters. leveymg Feb 2015 #17

Wrong name - it is correctly known as "The Islamic Institution of Snuff Videos". Yo_Mama Feb 2015 #38

"Target audience," indeed. leveymg Feb 2015 #50

If all you're selling is shock and awe, you can't back-pedal. Orsino Feb 2015 #14

I'm afraid you're right. MineralMan Feb 2015 #15

The civilized voice of empire whatchamacallit Feb 2015 #18

You know, that's not always true. MineralMan Feb 2015 #26

So you would oppose US intervention in this case? whatchamacallit Feb 2015 #28

Direct intervention? Yes, I would oppose that. MineralMan Feb 2015 #32

Good. whatchamacallit Feb 2015 #39

I'm not making any assumptions here. MineralMan Feb 2015 #44

No, it isn't. Yo_Mama Feb 2015 #41

And more innocents whatchamacallit Feb 2015 #45

So you're more outraged by the outrage than at geek tragedy Feb 2015 #54

I'm outraged by all atrocities whatchamacallit Feb 2015 #69

Funny how you only express outrage at Americans, even when someone else committed geek tragedy Feb 2015 #71

You do that whatchamacallit Feb 2015 #74

They are trying to draw "the west" into a new crusade. Tierra_y_Libertad Feb 2015 #20

Which begs the question what does a relatively decent man like Obama do when presented NoJusticeNoPeace Feb 2015 #29

We may well have intelligence that could be of use. MineralMan Feb 2015 #34

I have a couple liberal friends who argue with me that using drones in situations like this NoJusticeNoPeace Feb 2015 #40

I'm not competent to discuss tactical decisions there. MineralMan Feb 2015 #47

I do not believe we should be involved in the actual MineralMan Feb 2015 #30

Like i said above, it sure is a hard one. Does a pacifist acknowledge the part USA NoJusticeNoPeace Feb 2015 #33

Lots of things are tough calls. I'm glad I'm not in a position to MineralMan Feb 2015 #37

We agree on this MM. Tierra_y_Libertad Feb 2015 #35

I do not know what intelligence we have, really. MineralMan Feb 2015 #48

It also helps them to recruit more talent. Xithras Feb 2015 #63

They've managed to stir up a lot of anti-Islamic rhetoric and fear in The West. Tierra_y_Libertad Feb 2015 #70

All aided and abetted by an American media being trolled by ISIS to assist with the terrorism. Fred Sanders Feb 2015 #72

Which further disenfranchises Muslims, making even more of them susceptible to their marketing. Xithras Feb 2015 #73

Most despotic regimes have the 'decency' to torture and execute in secret. Not so these guys. pampango Feb 2015 #21

They care, and I think it's a good response. Waiting For Everyman Feb 2015 #22

Jordan will do what it thinks it should do. MineralMan Feb 2015 #24

As disgusting as this situation is... ZX86 Feb 2015 #23

I doubt that we'll be the ones to carry out a direct attack. MineralMan Feb 2015 #25

Agree...direct interference would be good short term, bad long term NoJusticeNoPeace Feb 2015 #36

International media must agree to a 100% news black out on their activities. Peregrine Took Feb 2015 #52

You'll never get such an agreement. MineralMan Feb 2015 #53

Have EVERYONE pull out of the ME and do no business with them WestCoastLib Feb 2015 #55

In other words, the local citizenry are responsible for both ISIS and the Despots... brooklynite Feb 2015 #58

On some level, yes they are WestCoastLib Feb 2015 #67

the entire ME as a "no go" zone. ileus Feb 2015 #59

I guess injecting microscopic recording devices in released ISIS prisoners is out of question? zazen Feb 2015 #56

Close. CIA "doubled" al-Qaeda prisoners '03 - '06, sending some back. Google: "Penny Lane Gitmo" leveymg Feb 2015 #66

Jordanian Royal Air Force Lieutenant Moaz al-Kassasbeh, was piloting an F-16 when his plane Fred Sanders Feb 2015 #60

More blowback - his F-16 was shot down with a MANPAD we let fall into ISIS hands. leveymg Feb 2015 #68

Kick for the bloodthirsty apocalyptics who call out to their own kind for religious war... Hekate Feb 2015 #62

They're trying to get ransoms paid by butchering their captives when it isn't. Warpy Feb 2015 #77

I think they want a war where the world turns against them. Agnosticsherbet Feb 2015 #78

I suspect that what they want is power. That is the usual MineralMan Feb 2015 #79

Crusades are, indeed, about power. Agnosticsherbet Feb 2015 #82

They mostly play to themselves. Igel Feb 2015 #80

While we're paying attention to Isis, Boko Haram is slowly conquering Africa. Initech Feb 2015 #83

I think that is true... kentuck Feb 2015 #84

Yes they are, and the US media are taking the bait tularetom Feb 2015 #85