# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/41 "2014-08-08T13:42:41Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Iraq’s military, such as it is, cut and ran when this started. I see no reason to think they’re willing to fight for themselves or for their country, such as it is. Also see no reason we should do it for them. We have to do it for them, because in the words of Colin Powell, “If you break it, you own it.” ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/42 "2014-08-08T13:57:48Z")
Humanitarian bombing missions do have an effectiveness problem, don’t they? Military capability can be seductive - it leads us to think we can solve every problem from above, with no real risk and no dirtying of our hands, while letting us think we’re “doing something”. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/43 "2014-08-08T14:01:57Z")
I’d hate to spend the rest of my short terrorist life looking over my shoulder for a Seal team on a mission. Airstrikes I could live with, at least you have a few seconds to duck. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/44 "2014-08-08T14:05:02Z")
> [@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? No, actually, we don’t. The UN is worthless. What the raghead militants apparently don’t realize is that they are going to fire one too many missiles at Israel and Israel is going to kill everyone in the Gaza area in order to eliminate the threat. It will be tragic, but necessary, and they will be justified in doing it because the people there are complicit and aiding Hamas in what they are doing. If the people weren’t complicit, they would be stopping Hamas. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/45 "2014-08-08T14:09:22Z")
Um, ISIS isn’t operating anywhere near Gaza, **Humpy**. Maybe those “ragheads” are just all the same to you? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/46 "2014-08-08T14:14:48Z")
I’m not saying **Clothahump** ’s stupidity knows no bounds, because I’m not an astrophysicist. But it does appear to be expanding. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/47 "2014-08-08T14:16:31Z")
What’s truly tragic is the terrorist disregard for collateral damage. A dead 4 year old is simply another martyr headed to a heavenly reward. Ignorant, misled bastards. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/48 "2014-08-08T14:16:53Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > What the raghead militants… Your claim of not being racist continues to be laughable, you worthless, rotting sack of dogshit. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/49 "2014-08-08T14:19:24Z")
Pin prick. We won’t be changing anything on the ground. I applaud the humanitarian mission, but are we just keeping them alive to die another day? ---
**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, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/50 "2014-08-08T14:20:31Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Humanitarian bombing missions do have an effectiveness problem, don’t they? > > Military capability can be seductive - it leads us to think we can solve every problem from above, with no real risk and no dirtying of our hands, while letting us think we’re “doing something”. I’m not convinced that Obama or the senior military staff thinks that bombing will solve the entire ISIS problem. Not for a second do they think it will. But I think they see this as a way to slow or stop the ISIS advance that’s been essentially unhindered up until now. Thus allow the Kurds an opportunity to regroup and re-arm; Dig in to be able to better deal with ISIS. Also some refugees will get some much needed emergency aid. That’s all this is. It’s a bit of respite and equalizing the playing field. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/51 "2014-08-08T14:23:25Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Pin prick. We won’t be changing anything on the ground. I applaud the humanitarian mission, but are we just keeping them alive to die another day? That is my worry as well. But I’m not seeing easy alternatives. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/52 "2014-08-08T14:27:26Z")
We can help in our limited way, but occupation and rooting out of evil isn’t in our toolbox politically or pragmatically. Even if it were, as \*\*Trinopus \*\*said upthread, the political division and hyper partisan-based marketing machinery subverts any thought about what’s the best course (among rotten choices) and changes the focus of coverage/reaction to “what did Obama do wrong?” Oh, and those of us who work for the UN on the development side of things see a hell of a lot of good work and have a good sense of why progress is so expensive and apparently inefficient. But nonetheless, great, necessary work gets done and lives are improved. See [UNDP](http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home.html), [UNICEF](http://www.unicef.org/), [UNWomen](http://www.unwomen.org/), [GEF](http://www.thegef.org/gef/), etc. It’s all well and good to take a comic book approach to the UN, but like democracy it’s the worst vehicle for diplomacy and development except for everything else. > [@Clothahump](#): > > What the \*\*raghead \*\*militants apparently don’t realize is that they are going to fire one too many missiles at Israel and Israel is going to kill everyone in the Gaza area in order to eliminate the threat. It will be tragic, but \*\*necessary, and they will be justified \*\*in doing it because the people there are complicit and aiding Hamas in what they are doing. If the people weren’t complicit, they would be stopping Hamas. Holy fuck, did you just use a racial slur \*and \*call for genocide/ethnic cleansing in the same post? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/53 "2014-08-08T14:27:52Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > That’s all this is. It’s a bit of respite and equalizing the playing field. My biggest concern is with identifying useful (and correct) targets, something very hard to do without people actually on the ground. The chance of random killing of innocents seems pretty high compared to any potential military effectiveness, even in the short term. I hope, and assume, we’re supporting and arming the Kurds to help them defend themselves - at least there’s some of that much-desired “moral clarity” there. In the rest of Iraq and Syria, well, how do you tell who the “good guys” are, or even if there is such a thing? Maybe this is a fire that needs to burn itself out. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/54 "2014-08-08T14:30:19Z")
> [@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? Russia and China have their own restive Muslims to deal with. They won’t go to bat for ISIS. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/55 "2014-08-08T14:34:59Z")
[CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/08/world/meast/syria-iraq-terror-havens/index.html?hpt=hp_t1) has a good article on the threat the US might face from ISIS. Worth reading. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/56 "2014-08-08T14:42:12Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > What the raghead militants … [Moderating] And that’s a warning for using racial slurs. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/57 "2014-08-08T14:56:06Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > [CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/08/world/meast/syria-iraq-terror-havens/index.html?hpt=hp_t1) has a good article on the threat the US might face from ISIS. Worth reading. I was thinking this morning: ISIS probably didn’t care too much about the US… until now. Here’s a thought: Americans in danger in Erbil? Get them the fuck outta there!!! ---
**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, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/58 "2014-08-08T14:58:24Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Holy fuck, did you just use a racial slur \*and \*call for genocide/ethnic cleansing in the same post? He’s a multitasker, he is. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/59 "2014-08-08T15:00:40Z")
Isis? More like Isn’tIsn’t, before long. ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073/60 "2014-08-08T15:00:42Z")
From the Frontline folks, a [really informative and engrossing](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/iraq-war-on-terror/losing-iraq/inside-the-rise-of-isis/)article about the rise of ISIS. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isis-youre-going-down/695073.md?page=4)