I guess the Libyans could always sell some planes to ISIS, ISIS has lots of cash money.

9/3/2014 12:09:03 PM

http://www.wral.com/islamic-state-backers-under-scrutiny-in-us/13915001/

9/4/2014 9:59:22 AM

My city's largest newspaper continues to be an unlikely source of support for Obama.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/58373775-82/obama-islamic-state-terror.html.csp

Quote :

"The first point concerns the actual war on terror that the administration has been waging. It is important to remember that Obama is perhaps the greatest killer of terrorists in American history. This formulation might upset his more liberal supporters, the sort who still haven’t figured out that Islamism poses a dire threat to modernity. And it will anger his more conservative opponents, who believe that he is, if not an actual Muslim, then a Muslim Brotherhood fellow traveler. But I believe that this is a supportable statement."

I really wish more people would use statements like the above to combat the ridiculous assertions that Obama is "weak on terror".

9/4/2014 1:57:00 PM

He's so good, that he even kills people before they can even become terrorists!


Yay, drones!

9/4/2014 4:50:28 PM

It's easy to kill a lot of terrorists when you classify every mail over a certain age that you kill as an enemy combatant or terrorist regardless of whether they actually are one.

9/4/2014 5:17:15 PM

You know who could have controlled IS in Iraq? Saddam Hussein.

9/4/2014 5:35:19 PM

every mail, he says


also, I don't usually read troll posts, but ^ is not far from the truth...

[Edited on September 4, 2014 at 5:45 PM. Reason : ]

9/4/2014 5:44:44 PM

Go to war and fuck up an entire country, and it becomes politically unstable.... who would have thought?

9/4/2014 6:25:24 PM

I hate it when JHC and I agree

9/4/2014 10:15:11 PM

I think its funny that Jesus misuses commas exactly the same way dtownral does.

As if we needed even more proof they're the same person.

At least he is posting less these days! Mission accomplished.

9/5/2014 6:17:35 PM

learn how paragraphs work bro

9/5/2014 6:18:40 PM

^^I average less than 3 posts a day, lover.

9/5/2014 6:50:58 PM

Quote :

"Journalists' Killings: Videos Fabricated to Justify Future War? DOHA: A report by Al Jazeera News channel has called the executions of two US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff as “Hollywood” casting, saying they could be used as a pretext for a Western intervention in Syria. The report — published under the “reports and interviews” section of the pan-Arab channel’s Arabic website on Thursday – said Foley likely fabricated the video, said alarabiya.net “Perhaps the first thing that draws the attention of the viewer” in the first beheading video is that “Foley was playing the role of champion not the victim only, for he recites a lengthy statement in peerless theatrical performance, and it seems from tracking the movement of his eyes that he was reading a text from an autocue,” the Al Jazeera report said. The report even expressed doubts over the identity of the masked killer, saying: “He does not have the features of common jihadist figures, but he was rather similar to a Hollywood actor.” To support the claim that the beheading was “staged,” the Al Jazeera report went into details of the execution. It claimed that a review of the video in slow motion showed that “the knife being moved on the neck of the victim six times triggered no blood.” “The filmmaker wanted to convince us that slaughtering was done after they cut the shot to show his head detached from the body in and unjustified montage leap,” the report claimed. It added that the same remarks also apply to the video of Sotloff’s execution. Similar to Foley, it claimed, Sotloff displayed no signs of fear, neither during his statement nor during the execution. It also raised questions over how Foley, who was kidnapped since 2012, reached the hands of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Even more, it raised doubts over the identity of the executed man, claiming that he does not look like Foley. It quoted “activists” as claiming that Foley had previously worked for the US Department of State and that he might have had links with intelligence, “which could mean that he colluded in the fabrication of the tape.” The Al Jazeera report claimed that “purported beheadings” could be used to justify a future war, like the George W. Bush’ justification for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In 2003, Bush marketed his idea to invade Iraq on the basis of reports that Saddam Hussein had weapons of Mass Destruction."

The world is fucked up. No one knows what the fucking truth is anymore. Everyone trying to subjugate his/her fellow wo/man, concerned only with fattening his/her pockets and stomach.

9/5/2014 11:59:24 PM

Bullshit.

http://i0.wp.com/www.therightcurmudgeon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/James-Foley.png?resize=600%2C387

That's the dumbest shit I've ever read from Al Jazeera.

First, why would we go to war over the death of a journalist? That's absurd.

He doesn't look "jihadist" because he's fucking British. Breaking news: there are tons of non-Arabs in ISIS.

The picture of him beheaded is not suspicious whatsoever.

They have no emotion because they have been broken. I've seen tons of executions. People largely have accepted their fate by the time they meet the executioner.

The editing of the video is the only weird thing. But they probably did it that way so it could be shown on the news, making it more impactful.

[Edited on September 6, 2014 at 8:12 PM. Reason : added some thoughts]

9/6/2014 8:00:56 PM

Those idiots have clearly never been to /r/watchpeopledie.

Every fucking beheading by these barbarians has been where the victim showed no intention of resisting. I imagine there's a mountain of brainwashing occurring in the weeks before.

9/6/2014 8:11:40 PM

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/obama-wants-congresss-ok-train-syrian-rebels-will-he-get-n200241

Arming more rebels vs. ramping up our own military.

What your thoughts TSB?

9/10/2014 2:22:38 PM

We need Israel to do the dirty work and Obama can be all

9/10/2014 2:32:19 PM

What could possibly go wrong?

Oh wait...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_war_in_Afghanistan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osama_bin_Laden#Mujahideen_in_Afghanistan

9/10/2014 2:34:08 PM

So should we send the troops back in? Would Americans support some more world policing?

9/10/2014 2:39:36 PM

Quote :

"Arming more rebels vs. ramping up our own military. What your thoughts TSB?"

Is neither an option?

9/10/2014 2:43:15 PM

i vote neither

9/10/2014 2:49:37 PM

What happens if neither?

Isis will either take over Iraq, or Iran will have to step in growing their power/influence in the middle east, increasing likelihood of a showdown with Israel, which would get the US involved anyway.

9/10/2014 2:53:05 PM

Iran will continue to step into Iraq, we need to be doing everything we can to improve our dialogue with Iran even if that means tabling nuclear talks and making some other concessions. Arab League nations will also do more to fight ISIS and there will likely be some ad hoc cross-sect alliances between Iran and more Arab League nations. It's not an ideal situation, but we have to face the reality that we have lost significant influence in the region because of our foreign policy there over the last decade+

[Edited on September 10, 2014 at 3:01 PM. Reason : .]

9/10/2014 3:00:17 PM

Quote :

" Every fucking beheading by these barbarians has been where the victim showed no intention of resisting. I imagine there's a mountain of brainwashing occurring in the weeks before. "

Same thing when they line people up and shoot them.

My theory is that they tell them that they are going to die, and if they comply, the captors will make it quick and to the point. If they resist, the killing will be some Quentin Tarantino shit.

9/10/2014 6:23:08 PM

How do iraqi shia feel about joining Iran? I really think Iraq should be split into three states if we want a long term solution without a dictator.

The Obama solution is just a way of prolonging our constant war and military industrial complex in a way that keeps the americans happy. Its not the money spent that ameicans care about. The american people are fine with that as long as our soldiers aren't dying. Thats why the complex has shifted over the last 10 years to only include using/giving equipment. Weapons can be continually produced without political fallout.

Last time we armed rebels, many of them joined what is now isis. Now we are arming rebels to fight the bad rebels who we also armed but we can't arm them enough to crush isis or assad will win.

[Edited on September 10, 2014 at 7:49 PM. Reason : all because of 2 beheadings. without the beheadings we'd still be doing nothing.]

9/10/2014 7:48:58 PM

I don't think Americans mind soldiers dying, and I don't even think soldiers mind soldiers dying, as long as they feel it's for a noble cause. The soldiers job is to fight and risk their life for America.

People (or at least Fox News) seem more upset with Obama for taking actions that seem weak but reduce the chances of soldiers dying, than when he shows some bravado.

9/10/2014 11:12:19 PM

Quote :

"The soldiers job is to fight and risk their life for America."

You're using the term "America" rather loosely, here. If by America, you mean capital, then yes.


Pawns die to protect the King, not the nation.

9/11/2014 1:59:37 AM

Quote :

"all because of 2 beheadings. without the beheadings we'd still be doing nothing."

we were arming the rebels and doing air strikes before the headings I'm pretty sure

9/11/2014 9:20:40 AM

the beheadings changed public opinion though

9/11/2014 10:40:47 AM

He literally said nothing new in the speech, at least not to anyone who's been paying attention. Everything he said we're going to do, we're already doing, including modest increases to our military presence on the ground. Leaving it up to Congress to arm the Syrian rebels is definitely a political move, he doesn't wasn't Democrats to be the only ones on the hook if/when that blows up in his face.

9/11/2014 11:24:19 AM

http://www.theonion.com/articles/obama-vows-to-split-isis-into-dozens-of-extremist,36903

If you assume that an extremist view of islam is the gasoline for all of this, how do we go about watering down Islam? Christianity seems well watered down nowadays, and wealth/industrialization was probably responsible for a lot of this.

9/11/2014 12:39:16 PM

Quote :

"I don't think Americans mind soldiers dying, and I don't even think soldiers mind soldiers dying, as long as they feel it's for a noble cause. The soldiers job is to fight and risk their life for America. "

They very much mind dying, regardless of the reason. As my father used to say when he was a D.I., "Don't be foolish and die for your country. Kill that other bastard and let him die for his country. Then go back and party in yours."

9/12/2014 4:43:34 AM

Brit was beheaded.

What are these guys thinking? Are they trying to piss off every major world power? Do they honestly think they can contend?

9/14/2014 7:09:38 PM

They are the bad guys right now. They need to get us over there so we can become the bad guys again.

9/14/2014 7:58:19 PM

Bingo.

9/14/2014 8:15:57 PM

Quote :

"Leaving it up to Congress to arm the Syrian rebels is definitely a political move, he doesn't wasn't Democrats to be the only ones on the hook if/when that blows up in his face."

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but isn't ISIS basically the definition of that "blowing up in his face?"

9/14/2014 9:48:55 PM

did you mean Bush's face? or both Bush and Obama's face? because, yes. it is.

9/14/2014 10:13:07 PM

At this point it doesn't really matter what Bush did, he's been out of office for 6 years. All the fun new adventures in the middle east and elsewhere are on Obama. Yeah, Bush got us into Iraq, everyone knows this, but Obama has kept us there, and did things in Libya and is now pushing for more shit in Iraq and involvement in Syria.

Yes, W. was a mediocre to bad president, but at some point, and I'd say midway through term #2 reasonable, you need to stop pointing fingers at the previous administration and look to yourself in terms of foreign policy decisions and their consequences. No one is arguing that there were problems to grapple with that were not of this president's making, but guess what, they're his and ours now!

Same thing with Russia and Ukraine. Had we not been fucking with their legally elected government and meddling in their affairs we wouldn't be in a pissing match with the only country who can cripple Europe via heating oil embargo or threaten our allies there militarily.

This administration needs to own foreign policy and stop trying to shift blame.

9/14/2014 11:47:08 PM

If Obama had to actually own something, he wouldn't know what to do. He twice ran on blaming the previous guy. It's all he knows; goodness knows he doesn't know how to be President.

9/14/2014 11:53:56 PM

^^ just because everyone knows it, doesn't mean that the Iraq war wasn't Bush's fault and it doesn't mean that it wasn't a huge fuck up. Destroying Iraq was a monumental mistake, probably the biggest of our generation. The instability of middle east and strength of ISIL are directly because of Bush.

[Edited on September 15, 2014 at 8:58 AM. Reason : .]

9/15/2014 8:58:20 AM

We should just leave dictators in place over there. They are ruthless and cruel, but I'm beginning to believe that ruthless and cruel is the only way anyone can keep these people in line.

9/15/2014 10:46:48 AM

Yeah, those subhuman scum. Those filthy brown dogs. All they know is fear, all they respect is violence. Give them more of the same. Primitive culture, barely out of caves, glass parking lot, blah blah blah.

You need to wake up to the fact that you are a bad person and get your life straight.

9/15/2014 12:55:25 PM

Quote :

"it doesn't mean that it wasn't a huge fuck up. Destroying Iraq was a monumental mistake, probably the biggest of our generation."

Depends on your perspective. If you're a board member of Haliburton, the Iraq war was a huge success. Oh sure, thousands of people died and Americans soldiers suffered militarily abroad and citizens suffered economically at home, and the middle east is in turmoil now. But that's just the cost of freedom, baby!

9/15/2014 3:03:25 PM

^^So were you actually for toppling Saddam? And Gadhafi? Mubarak? And upcoming...Assad?

Because lemme tell you, those people have really blossomed since those guys have been overthrown. It's been a regular renaissance in those countries.

9/15/2014 3:14:30 PM

Quote :

"Destroying Iraq was a monumental mistake, probably the biggest of our generation. The instability of middle east and strength of ISIL are directly because of Bush"

I'm not so sure...

In the long run destabilizing the middle east, removing dictators, and allowing artificially created borders that Europe established post WWI to be redrawn by the people and groups thsre may actually result in a safer, more peaceful middle east in the long run. Intervention now may be a horrible thing and might have been good 20 years ago.

It's hard to say how things will work out. Is a 3 state solution in Iraq the best option, maybe some kind of Arab super state will emerge, maybe the Arab league will actually do something to stabilize the region. There are a lot of possible outcomes. The ouster of murderous dictators by the people they oppressed followed by bloodshed and intra group power struggles and eventually stability is not unheard of.

[Edited on September 15, 2014 at 3:47 PM. Reason : FL ]

9/15/2014 3:43:52 PM

Disagree on Iraq. While I think the reasons were wrong for going there and we shouldn't have in the first place, when W left Iraq was a stable place. That's why it stopped being in the news and the focus was on Afghanistan, because we were winning.

There were numerous mishaps in the management of the war, but they were exacerbated by Obama by not listening to his military advisers. Many, including those on the left, had actually come to agree that W was successful in Iraq because it allowed others to follow (Egypt, Libya, etc.) We have to keep a presence there, and BO withdrew from Iraq from a purely political reason that was against nearly all advice.

9/15/2014 3:44:31 PM

There are no good guys and bad guys. The United States does not possess moral authority, those men were not cartoon supervillains, and they as individuals were not completely responsible for any status quo. Removing them from power does not magically grant powers of love and justice to the people nor does it cause organized extremists to spring up like mushrooms after rain.

9/15/2014 3:49:12 PM

No, but removing any government or power structure results in a power vacuum which will be filled by one or more people or groups. That's what happens anywhere, it's not unique to the middle east. Sometimes the process is relatively non violent, but sometimes when the country in question was not created by the people who live there you will get conflict as groups of people seek to form there own alliances and countries.

Remember, up until the European powers divided that region up amongst themselves it looked a hell of a lot different. You really want to blame something you can blame the Sykes-Picot treaty for the current sectarian violence.

9/15/2014 4:01:34 PM

is sykes-picot the secret origin of shia vs. sunni

9/15/2014 4:13:06 PM

Nope but it did force them to share a country and in Iraq specifically the British put the minority group in power to help them control the majority.

It might be best from a standpoint of stability and peace to have a kurdish state, a sunni state, and a shiite state. That seems to be the way that people in that region choose to group themselves.

This is not a new concept, you see the same thing in any place were various disparate ethnic or religious groups are forced together by an outside power. I'm not saying there will be no conflict, but I bet there would be less and for sure it would reduce the likelihood of genocide or ethnic cleansing.

9/15/2014 4:28:20 PM