'Mad Dog' Mattis Says U.S. Now Using Annihilation Tactics In Fight Against ISIS

[matt819]

12. And when this fails?

Sure, sounds great. And a lot of terrorists are going to die. Yay for our side.

And a lot of children are going to die. And the deaths of those children will create more terrorists, and not only in Syria and the Middle East. What are you going to do? Carpet bomb Manchester and Birmingham and Paris? And what about radicalized Muslims here in the US? San Bernadino? Dearborn?

This tactic, while satisfying to some - heck, to many - will fail.

Do I have an answer? Not really. Intelligent engagement with Muslim countries and Muslim communities worldwide would be worth a try. Results won't be immediate, and so it won't satisfy Mattis or 45 or their followers. It won't satisfy the Islamophobes, racists, and bigots. And it's hard. And time-consuming. Arming the Saudis and other Middle Eastern states to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars of weapons - to be used on non-conforming Sunnis and possibly Iran and Israel at some point - or transferred to ISIS itself in some form - is not the way to go.

Muslims have been fighting these fights and fighting outsiders for centuries. Memories are long. The buffoons in this administration can give themselves all the high-fives they want. And they will leave us, and the world, at greater risk.