let them go for it

[Harvs]

Now it seems the terrorists are killing each other,this can only be a good thing, the less of these nutters running around the better.

http://www.news.com.au/world/syrian-...-1227428595510

[Betonov]

I won't shed a tear for the executioned.
Nor for the executioners when they go.

[Harvs]

Too right Betonov, they deserve all they get.

[Torplexed]

I can't say I'm shedding a tear for these creeps either. It just proves the old maxim that the longer two enemies fight each other, the more they come to resemble each other.

What does scare me is the toxic social cesspool these guys are creating. A whole generation is being raised in a poisonous atmosphere where atrocity is the daily norm and heritage destruction is done gleefully. Nobody cared when Arab tribes blood-feuded over honor or water wells in some desert wasteland. But then came oil and nationalism and Arabs living by the millions in nation states and as those states start to dissolve you end up with hundreds of thousands of people on the hoof for some place where there is still a shred of normalcy. I don't think Europe can take them all in without starting to pop at the seams. And it's not just Syria and northern Iraq. Yemen is melting down, as is Libya. You also have to worry what happens if Iran or Saudi Arabia or Israel try to put a cork in it and come to blows.

I sure don't want to get involved militarily. It always degenerates into whack-a-mole on a grand scale when we do. But I don't think they're going to all conveniently kill themselves all off without some unintended consequences or blow-back.

[Catfish]

I do not shed a tear either.

Originally Posted by Torplexed

[...] ... Nobody cared when Arab tribes blood-feuded over honor or water wells in some desert wasteland. But then came oil and nationalism and Arabs living by the millions in nation states and as those states start to dissolve you end up with hundreds of thousands of people on the hoof for some place where there is still a shred of normalcy.[...]

"But then came oil and nationalism".
You mean colonies, greed for oil and puppet regimes, or, to be precise, the western countries came.
But you would not say "we" have anything to do with it, when we think of countries like Persia with the Anglo-Persian oil company etc.

[Torplexed]

Originally Posted by Catfish

I do not shed a tear either.




"But then came oil and nationalism".
You mean colonies, greed for oil and puppet regimes, or, to be precise, the western countries came.
But you would not say "we" have anything to do with it, when we think of countries like Persia with the Anglo-Persian oil company etc.

But the Shah looked resplendent in his uniform dripping with medals! And he tried so very hard to bring his country into the 21st Century. And he was America's bff, back in the day.

Yes, the US propped up the Shah of Iran. Progressive, anti-Communist, secular. Look how that worked out. And the US has supported the Saudis for decades now. What was it, 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9-11 were Saudis?

Somehow I don't think we're going fix anything at this point. From everything that has transpired in the Middle East over the course of my lifetime, I think the US should be deeply skeptical of everyone in that region, maybe our allies as well, and should never trust the good intentions of anyone, especially a militant faction that is seeking arms and money. I'm not even sure if I trust the Kurds in the long run. I'm thinking Obama's keep away policy is probably the best course out of a bunch of bad options, but I'm also realistic in knowing that it's not all gonna solve itself.

Edit--it probably makes sense to provide Kurdish forces with money and arms to repel ISIS. But I would not go beyond that and try to form a political alliance.