# ISIS--you're going down **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 8, 2014, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073 "2014-08-08T01:00:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/21 "2014-08-08T05:05:23Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Yep. You’re right. We’ve been slow before. But I think this time we’re in for the long haul. Go US. Long haul? I don’t know about that. Let them pop their heads up and we’ll happily shoot them off. Invade and occupy? This president isn’t into that. Thank the deity of your choice. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/22 "2014-08-08T05:07:49Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > I wonder just how all those people who were/are howling about the civilian casualties while fighting Hamas in Gaza are going to twist themselves into pretzels trying not to apply the same “principles” when fighting ISIS is going to start killing civilians. Presumably we’ll be targeting armed militants and not UN schools, for example. We’ll see though- it can only be ugly. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/23 "2014-08-08T05:09:26Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > Presumably we’ll be targeting armed militants and not UN schools, for example. We’ll see though- it can only be ugly. So were Israelis - targeting militants and not UN schools. Like US in Kosovo was targeting militants and not Chinese embassies. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/24 "2014-08-08T05:43:52Z")
They’ve got a lot of captured US equipment, yes? Perhaps if it were supplied by Haliburton, our problem will solve itself. One thing yet to be hoped for: the common enemy, the one bunch of guys so fucking rotten that everybody sets aside their grievances for the moment. Even the Devil’s schemes don’t always work as planned. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/25 "2014-08-08T05:47:33Z")
I was wondering about the military equipment they stole from the Iraqi surrender monkeys. How long can it last without Cheney resupplying them? Or is he? ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/26 "2014-08-08T05:47:45Z")
> [@Bouncer](#): > > Any response “guarantees” civilian casualties. Hell, not responding at all “guarantees” civilian casualties. /shrug > > Their numbers are not really swelling. They are making enemies among the Sunni faster than they are making friends because of their tactics. And arming the Kurds is by far the best idea. They are disciplined, motivated, and they will fight. They already have heavy armor and artillery. More to the point, they’re basically non-sectarian. They don’t care if someone is Sunni or Shi’a or Christian. Also, they like the United States both because of what we did for them after Gulf War I, and because we’ve worked closely with them since the beginning of OIF I. > > Of the time I spent in Iraq, I enjoyed my time in Erbil the most. It’s the most secure, yet freest city in the country. > > Regards, > -Bouncer- [Erbil isn’t looking good right now](http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/08/08/world/middleeast/isis-forces-in-iraq.html?_r=0&referrer=) from this just in from NYT… > [@](#): > > The loss of the Mosul Dam, the largest in Iraq, to the insurgents was the most dramatic consequence of a militant offensive in the north, which has sent tens of thousands of refugees, many from the Yazidi minority, fleeing into a vast mountainous landscape. > > In one captured town, Sinjar, ISIS executed dozens of Yazidi men, and kept the dead men’s wives for unmarried jihadi fighters. Panic on Thursday spread even to the Kurdish capital of Erbil, long considered a safe haven, with civilians flooding the airport in a futile attempt to buy tickets to Baghdad. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/27 "2014-08-08T05:49:28Z")
Personally, I don’t think Maleki is worth protecting, given his unwillingness to forge a political solution with the Sunnis. (And OBTW, there are a lot of Sunni groups running around with guns in Iraq other than ISIS. Expect infighting if ISIS can hold territory.) The Kurds are another story. They might deserve air support. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/28 "2014-08-08T06:01:13Z")
Hear tell that ISIS is selling oil. To whom? I want to know their names, I want everyone to know their names. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/29 "2014-08-08T06:05:22Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Hear tell that ISIS is selling oil. To whom? I want to know their names, I want everyone to know their names. The US won’t buy oil from Kurds. Also curious who is buying IS oil. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/30 "2014-08-08T07:40:14Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > The US won’t let genocide occur. Ha ha ha ha! Good one. No, by all means, fuck ISIS, yes, deservedly so. But this? This is just jingoistic tripe. What’s the US doing about Darfur _right now_? What did the US do about Boko Haram? ---
**Author:** ![Mellivora\_capensis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mellivora\_capensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mellivora_capensis)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/31 "2014-08-08T09:39:53Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Ha ha ha ha! Good one. > > No, by all means, fuck ISIS, yes, deservedly so. But this? This is just jingoistic tripe. What’s the US doing about Darfur _right now_? … Kovac, Pratt and Carter. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/32 "2014-08-08T11:38:30Z")
> [@Mellivora\_capensis](#): > > Kovac, Pratt and Carter. 😃 (but it’s Kovač) ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/33 "2014-08-08T11:46:35Z")
It is good and right that the US will stem the tide of ISIS. It is good and right that the US will hurt ISIS in the process. (Fuck 'em, indeed.) It is good and right that the US will help those most urgently in need of humanitarian aid. But this will not do a damn thing to change anything with respect to islamic extremist aggression in the area or it’s threat in other parts of the world. This action is like fighting fires in California. You have no choice but to send out water bombers and fire crews to put out the fires. But nothing you do today will prevent more fires starting next week, next month, next year, elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/34 "2014-08-08T12:00:17Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > The US cannot do this alone. I mean, we have the power to hit them with airstrikes, but if this is going to go with a military response we need a UN Security Council resolution and NATO support. Is there any reason to think Russia or China would block a resolution? The US needs allies to defeat a ragtag bunch of religious fanatics? We’ve got plenty: The Kurds and the Iraqi army. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/35 "2014-08-08T12:15:53Z")
When ISIS arrived the Iraqi army crapped its pants and ran. They’re useless. The Kurds, though - they will stand and fight, and are. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/36 "2014-08-08T12:16:26Z")
Not so much since last night though. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/37 "2014-08-08T12:46:07Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > I wonder just how all those people who were/are howling about the civilian casualties while fighting Hamas in Gaza are going to twist themselves into pretzels trying not to apply the same “principles” when fighting ISIS is going to start killing civilians. Good to know you haven’t lost your ability to bring Teh Stupid. I wonder just who “all those people” are who you’re talking about, and just what contradiction you think you’re about to catch them in. Most people who are opposed to the indiscriminate slaughter in Gaza are pretty much opposed to indiscriminate slaughter by anyone, anywhere. That’s certainly how I roll. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/38 "2014-08-08T12:51:14Z")
I’m relieved to know Obama is going to do what he can about ISIS. But realistically, there’s only so much we can do. We can rescue some refugees, and we can arm the Kurds. That’s about it. We can’t protect the Sunni areas of Iraq from ISIS, the Iraqi army won’t, and the Kurds won’t go much beyond the parts of Iraq they regard as rightfully theirs. We opened a can of worms when we invaded Iraq in 2003, and the consequences continue to be grave. Somewhere, Thomas Hobbes is laughing bitterly. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/39 "2014-08-08T13:11:44Z")
Isis has grown because the Iraqi government has excluded Sunnis. Bombing them won’t change the fact these groups refuse to cooperate in any functioning political organization. I see American intervention getting us nowhere in the longer term. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/40 "2014-08-08T13:18:32Z")
The Pentagon just announced ISIS artillery was hit by US warplanes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073.md?page=3)