Network of Death (yes, but….)

….“No god condones this terror. No
grievance justifies these actions. There can be no reasoning, no
negotiation, with this brand of evil….The only language understood by
killers like this is the language of force…..So the United States of
America will work with a broad coalition to dismantle this network of
death”….
….
As the USA declares total war in the Middle East (again) there are no Christians (or neo-cons) hell bent on a crusade, instead it is just the Central Command engaged in a “lawn mowing” operation against deviant Shias (led by Bashar al Assad) and Sunnis (led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi).

A few (genuine, if non-original) critiques. The #1 coalition “ally” of the USA – the Saudis – behead just as many people as the Caliphate does. They were the prime movers behind 9/11. They keep spreading Salafist poison around the globe, to the extent that some Japanese (!!!) have now joined the islamist brigades. Why not get rid of the head of the snake- the House of Saud?
………
Speaking of allies, is it not possible for Viceroy Richard G Olson (full title: Ambassador of the United States to Pakistan) to ask the revolutionary brothers-in-arms to stop playing games and let their long suffering countrymen move on with their lives? Hundreds have been killed by floods, millions are internally displaced, manufacturing has been paralyzed (lack of electricity).  When is enough, actually, you know, enough?

Finally, many wise people are claiming (and we agree) that Obama is fighting this war to boost his popularity and keep the US Senate out of Republican hands. Already the polls are registering a boost. And that is fair enough..as a limited objective (the soldiers will be back home by Christmas).

However in the long term it appears that there are only two proper options: remain all-in or steadily pull-out. Either the Central Command is dismantled (the USA has enough oil on-shore) OR the entire Middle East North Africa is colonized (to protect minorities of all stripes including Shias and Sunnis). If the USA persists with the familiar bombs and carrots strategy, then it will surely be transformed into an ineffective master-villain despised by all (see Afghanistan, Libya).
…………………..

This is how a Nobel Peace Prize laureate goes to war. He
smiles warmly at the members of the U.N. General Assembly. He mentions
his grandmother’s village in Kenya and notes that “Islam teaches peace.”
He admits his country’s own flaws, praises “the path of diplomacy and
peace,” and asserts that lasting gains cannot be “won at the barrel of a
gun.”
…
Also, he wades a good 19 minutes into his 40-minute speech (the official time limit is 15 minutes) before getting to the nub of the matter: “The terrorist group known as ISIL must be degraded and ultimately destroyed.”
….
“In
the most horrific crimes imaginable, innocent human beings have been
beheaded, with videos of the atrocity distributed to shock the
conscience of the world,” he says. “No god condones this terror. No
grievance justifies these actions. There can be no reasoning, no
negotiation, with this brand of evil. The only language understood by
killers like this is the language of force. So the United States of
America will work with a broad coalition to dismantle this network of
death.”
….
Network of Death! A linguistic heir to George W. Bush’s
Axis of Evil, perchance? “Those who have joined ISIL should leave the
battlefield while they can,” the peacemaker threatens.
….
This
is a different Obama from the one who spoke in Cairo five years ago,
urging a new era in relations between America and the Muslim world.
Though similar themes appeared in both addresses, the 2014 Obama was
more demanding of the Muslim world — and less apologetic about America’s
role — as he lectured Muslim leaders to make a serious fight against
extremists.
…
In the 2009 speech, Obama invoked the “Holy Koran”
five times and asserted that “any world order that elevates one nation
or group of people over another will inevitably fail.” He spoke out
against the U.S. use of torture and said he would close the Guantanamo
Bay prison. (He didn’t.) He spoke of the “intolerable” situation faced
by Palestinians and called for a stop to Israeli settlements. 
…
“The enduring faith of over a billion people is so much bigger than
the narrow hatred of a few,” the new president said. “Islam is not part
of the problem in combating violent extremism — it is an important part
of promoting peace.”
….
On Wednesday, the second-term president went
relatively easy on Israel, instead telling Arab countries to stop using
the conflict “as an excuse to distract people from problems at home.”
….
Obama
was stern in his instructions for the Muslims: “It is time for the
world, especially in Muslim communities, to explicitly, forcefully and
consistently reject the ideology of organizations like al-Qaeda and
ISIL,” also known as the Islamic State. 
….
He went on at some length about
the intolerance of clerics who preach hate and the “hypocrisy” of those
who fund terrorism. And he instructed Arab
nations to “acknowledge the destruction wrought by proxy wars and terror
campaigns between Sunni and Shia across the Middle East.”
….
“In
this century, we have faced a more lethal and ideological brand of
terrorists who have perverted one of the world’s great religions,” he
said. “With access to technology that allows small groups to do great
harm, they have embraced a nightmarish vision that would divide the
world into adherents and infidels, killing as many innocent civilians as
possible, employing the most brutal methods.”
…..

Link: washingtonpost.com/barack-obama-makes-the-case-for-war

….

regards