# Some ideas on defeating ISIS **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 16, 2015, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-ideas-on-defeating-isis/737699 "2015-11-16T15:26:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-ideas-on-defeating-isis/737699/1 "2015-11-16T15:26:56Z")
It is clear to me that military intervention will not work. USA/NATO created the conditions for ISIS to form with the war in Iraq. I think another war will only make things worse. All we have done is created a trillion-dollar game of whack a mole with all these various wars in the middle east. 1. Use public funds to bring back the oil wells that have been decommissioned since the price went down. Sell this oil on the global market as cheap as possible. ISIS gets their money from oil, and if we can bring the price down, they will suffer. This won’t be cheap, but it costs less than all-out war, which seems to be the favored solution. 2. Work with telecom companies to cut them off. The attack in Paris couldn’t have happened if they didn’t have internet. Anyone who is determined to be in ISIS should have all social media accounts deleted as well. This also will hurt their recruitment. 3. Japan should place an embargo on the effected areas. ISIS uses Playstations to communicate, and drives Toyotas. This would eventually cripple them. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-ideas-on-defeating-isis/737699/2 "2015-11-16T20:40:33Z")
Sic Anonymous on them. > **[Anonymous just might make all the difference in attacking ISIS](https://www.csoonline.com/article/3005482/anonymous-just-might-make-all-the-difference-in-attacking-isis.html)** > > The hacking group’s activities have always seemed dubious, but in this case, success will be quite welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Latro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@Latro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latro)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-ideas-on-defeating-isis/737699/3 "2015-11-16T20:42:23Z")
Let Russia deal with it? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-ideas-on-defeating-isis/737699/4 "2015-11-16T20:45:37Z")
ISIS will be defeated by time. It’s built for a short, fiery existence, not a long slog of building a new nation. ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-ideas-on-defeating-isis/737699/5 "2015-11-16T20:48:29Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > 1. Japan should place an embargo on the effected areas. ISIS uses Playstations to communicate, and drives Toyotas. This would eventually cripple them. this is a parody, yes? ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-ideas-on-defeating-isis/737699/6 "2015-11-16T20:49:51Z")
What roll did NATO have with creating ISIS? ---
**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:** [November 16, 2015, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-ideas-on-defeating-isis/737699/7 "2015-11-16T20:51:40Z")
Nuke 'em from orbit? ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-ideas-on-defeating-isis/737699/8 "2015-11-16T20:56:36Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > What roll did NATO have with creating ISIS? Helping in the Iraq war. Which created a power vacuum, that paved the way for ISIS. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-ideas-on-defeating-isis/737699/9 "2015-11-16T21:00:20Z")
I notice that a lot of clothes worn by ISIL members use cotton. We should implement a world-wide cotton registration scheme. ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-ideas-on-defeating-isis/737699/10 "2015-11-16T21:02:17Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > Helping in the Iraq war. . You are confused. The NATO was not engaged in the American Iraq war. The NATO engaged in the Afghanistan intervention. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-ideas-on-defeating-isis/737699/11 "2015-11-16T21:02:47Z")
Allow Saudi Arabia and Iran to have the war they’ve always wanted to decide regional dominance. Politically separate Iraq along the religious and ethnic lines that divide it already. Hmmmm, what other cures are worse than the disease? ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-ideas-on-defeating-isis/737699/12 "2015-11-16T21:06:36Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I notice that a lot of clothes worn by ISIL members use cotton. We should implement a world-wide cotton registration scheme. what about blends? ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-ideas-on-defeating-isis/737699/13 "2015-11-16T21:08:39Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > Helping in the Iraq war. Which created a power vacuum, that paved the way for ISIS. No. The US and the Coalition of the Willing went and screwed up Iraq. From here : [http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030325-9.html](http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030325-9.html) Afghanistan Albania Angola Australia Azerbaijan Bulgaria Colombia Costa Rica Czech Republic Denmark Dominican Republic El Salvador Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Georgia Honduras Hungary Iceland Italy Japan Kuwait Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Marshall Islands Micronesia Mongolia Netherlands Nicaragua Palau Panama Philippines Poland Portugal Romania Rwanda Singapore Slovakia Solomon Islands South Korea Spain Tonga Turkey Uganda Ukraine United Kingdom Uzbekistan ---
**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:** [November 16, 2015, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-ideas-on-defeating-isis/737699/14 "2015-11-16T21:10:37Z")
> [@Ramira](#): > > what about blends? Depends on the ratio of cotton to synthetics. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-ideas-on-defeating-isis/737699/15 "2015-11-16T21:24:51Z")
Sounds like some cells are using PS3 chat groups for private communication. So perhaps FPS trolls have a role to play here. ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-ideas-on-defeating-isis/737699/16 "2015-11-16T21:30:01Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Depends on the ratio of cotton to synthetics. What if there is wool involved? What is the tipping percentage point where polyster is not hala for the takfiri. I think research is needed. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-ideas-on-defeating-isis/737699/17 "2015-11-16T21:39:51Z")
I think a group like ISIS needs to be dealt with using many of the same ideas and expectations that we use against organized crime. You wouldn’t eliminate the mafia just by invading Sicily. You have to think of it as a slow process in which you 1. methodically take out the heads of the organization and their replacements 2. attack the most profitable and most harmful practices of the organization first 3. prevent infiltration and corruption of your law-abiding organizations (with ISIS, I think this includes the Muslim religion policing itself) 4. get the population used to idea of the rule of law; they have to be persuaded over time that the thugs can be fought and that law enforcement can protect them And, unfortunately, you’re looking at a timeline in the decades to resolve the problem. We thought Iraq would be different because we focused on Saddam Hussein… but we discovered that the underlying tribalism and religious divides made it a much more complicated issue. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-ideas-on-defeating-isis/737699/18 "2015-11-16T22:13:52Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > ISIS will be defeated by time. It’s built for a short, fiery existence, not a long slog of building a new nation. I’m sure they said the same thing about the Bolsheviks… ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-ideas-on-defeating-isis/737699/19 "2015-11-16T22:17:39Z")
It’s not difficult to defeat ISIS. The rub is in filling out the power vacuum afterwards and ensuring the Islamists don’t just metastasize under another name six months later. ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-ideas-on-defeating-isis/737699/20 "2015-11-16T22:20:00Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#): > > I’m sure they said the same thing about the Bolsheviks… the bolsheviks achieved sympathy in their target audiences and achieved control of a major nation quickly. The Daesh do not and did not. if you want to find bad analogies, it is better to look at the anarchist movements. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-ideas-on-defeating-isis/737699.md?page=2)