How should an American Christian respond to ISIS?

Bama Reb

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Maybe agrees with General Dempsey, his Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who stated in his testimony before Congress.

“Militarily we could confront them, we could destroy a lot of equipment, we could drive them underground, if you will. But as I said, they will only be defeated or destroyed once they are rejected by the population in which they hide,” Dempsey said.
“Truly there is no military solution to ISIL,” the general added. “It may be a tough pill to swallow, but there is no military solution.”

Dempsey also said:

Dempsey was quick to say the US can’t achieve that goal alone, however, and said that the way forward must involve a“coalition of Arab and Muslim partners, and not through the ownership of the United States.”
This reminds me of the movie "Good Morning Vietnam" starring the infamous Robin Williams.
Below, he is on his daily radio broadcast:

Adrian Cronauer: [impersonating an Intelligence Officer] We've realized that we're having a very difficult time finding the enemy. It isn't easy to find a Vietnamese man named "Charlie." They're all named Nguyen, or Tran, or...

Adrian Cronauer: [as himself] Well, how are you going about it?

Adrian Cronauer: [as Intel Officer]
Well, we walk up to someone and say, 'Are you the enemy? And, if they say yes, then we shoot them."
 

tidegrandpa

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Maybe agrees with General Dempsey, his Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who stated in his testimony before Congress.

“Militarily we could confront them, we could destroy a lot of equipment, we could drive them underground, if you will. But as I said, they will only be defeated or destroyed once they are rejected by the population in which they hide,” Dempsey said.
“Truly there is no military solution to ISIL,” the general added. “It may be a tough pill to swallow, but there is no military solution.”

Dempsey also said:

Dempsey was quick to say the US can’t achieve that goal alone, however, and said that the way forward must involve a“coalition of Arab and Muslim partners, and not through the ownership of the United States.”
Lincoln went through three Generals before he could find one with enough guts to lead the Union Army and carry the fight to the enemy to his liking.
 

81usaf92

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Lincoln went through three Generals before he could find one with enough guts to lead the Union Army and carry the fight to the enemy to his liking.
You are also talking about three west point paper pushers who had egos the size of elephants with an army that over 60% had not seen combat going against the USA's finest generals from the Mexican war and over 70% had seen combat. Plus over 2/3 of the USA's military institutions were in the south. Also add the fact that the south had something to lose if they lost a battle. Isis does not. Isis is an idea that is only accepted by radicals not a movement that is accepted by a whole society as a whole. While we can debate the moderate Muslims view on Isis all day, we can't say that if we take X we beat Y on a map of Syria and Iraq. Putting boots on the ground only will escalate the situation, and military objectives won't be clear. Economically and through PROPER funding the enemies of Isis can we ever contain and/or defeat them.
 
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Bamaro

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No, but I am all for bombing them back to the stone age. The will to do this has been lacking from the office of the POTUS.
We had pilots who flew over their camps and were refused the orders over many months. Untie their abilities.
If we felt we could trust our leaders to do what is best for Americans this situation would be less polarizing. It seems Obama is more concerned with what Iranians want and Congress is afraid or too selfish to call him on this.
This isn't an enemy like Germany or Japan. "Bombing them back to the stone age" means little in a conflict like this, or with al-qaeda either.
 

Gr8hope

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This isn't an enemy like Germany or Japan. "Bombing them back to the stone age" means little in a conflict like this, or with al-qaeda either.
True, but we could do significant damage to their training camps. We have had the opportunity to do so many times, according to our pilots but the orders were withheld.
 

KentuckianaBFan

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Imagine them growing in numbers and power, spreading across the globe and popping a nuke over here. The means are being set in place with the mass immigration and Iran's deal with skippy.
I wasn't arguing against going in over there--just wondering why they really want us in Syria in force...they're not stupid enough to think they can win, and I don't think after Paris that they are stupid enough to think that the entire Muslim world will rise up in their support...well, on second thought, maybe they are that stupid.
 

81usaf92

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I wasn't arguing against going in over there--just wondering why they really want us in Syria in force...they're not stupid enough to think they can win, and I don't think after Paris that they are stupid enough to think that the entire Muslim world will rise up in their support...well, on second thought, maybe they are that stupid.
Their reasoning for us in Syria is that some Muslims believe that there is a town in Syria that is the site of the apocalypse in which , ironically, Jesus will destroy an imposing western power after the entire Muslim people unite. The problem is that Isis strongly believes that the Turks, Arabs, and Persians will put away their race differences when the successor of Mohammed is still up for debate. Adding to it is the Saudis and Turks have alliances with the USA and Great Britain and Isis's fellow Shias (Iran) is backing Assad against them. Also the theory is been proven wrong since Lawrence and justintine have invaded Syria before. I don't believe the entire Muslim people would unite but we will be facing a substantial increase in Isis recruitment if we do. So it's better to fight from afar and fund a side in the Syrian civil war.
 

KentuckianaBFan

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Some of the conversation on this thread was about the refugee influx into our country. Gov. Bentley, along with governors in 5 other States, has said Alabama will not take them. A poster on anther site suggested that if all 50 States would do the same we could settle them all in D.C. Excellent idea. I suspect we would get a truer picture of the motivation for the executive order to take them in. Many things have been done using charity and compassion as the reason when they were really done for self serving politicians who hurt everyone involved in the long run. A favorite liberal term is "it's for the children." Do America's children not matter?
There are roughly 60 million refugees around the globe. Shall we take them all?
Send 'em to Chicago--they can have their "1st reunion" at the ex-POTUS's house in a year...
 

Gr8hope

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Because they were created by Obama to take out Assad. They were the rebels on which he spent 500 million dollars to train and arm and are now his proxy troops. it is not working in the way he hoped. He does not want them destroyed.
He says his military advisers advise against going there against ISIS. Of course they do. All those who have disagreed with his policies have been let go or retired. He has merely been giving lip service to the fight. The man lies constantly.
 

81usaf92

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Because they were created by Obama to take out Assad. They were the rebels on which he spent 500 million dollars to train and arm and are now his proxy troops. it is not working in the way he hoped. He does not want them destroyed.
He says his military advisers advise against going there against ISIS. Of course they do. All those who have disagreed with his policies have been let go or retired. He has merely been giving lip service to the fight. The man lies constantly.
If we are going to blame Obama for anything then it's hastily getting out of Iraq but that goes back to where this all started in the first place... Both bushes. Hw has less of the blame because no one could predict that convincing the Saudis to reject Osama's plan to get rid of Sadamm would make us ALQUADAs chief enemy, but bush 2.0 creating a power vacuum is what gave Isis a nest in the first place. Ironically Assad is our evil that keeps the other evil at bay, but once again one of our presidents believes that we should help a small minority overthrow a malevolent dictator. Us backing a side that has no chance to win is bad because they are open to Isis help even though Isis will stab them in the back in the end
 

TIDE-HSV

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Actually, there is some logic in "bombing back into the stone age." Al Qaeda can go underground. ISIS cannot. By their very basic underlying belief, The Caliphate must command territory and enforce Sharia in that territory. No Caliphate = no Caliph. No Caliph and ISIS collapses, along with all of the pledges of allegiance. AQ can and has gone underground, without collapse. I'd urge reading the Atlantic article I linked in the other thread. It offers great insight into how their minds work...
 

GP for Bama

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Encourage Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to deploy massive ground troops to retake and hold the ISIS area. Let them use captured oil wells to help pay for the venture.
France, Britain, and the US provide massive air power that is well coordinated with the ground troops.
Absolutely destroy ISIS militarily.
Afterwards let the middle eastern countries have a large say in how to permanently divide up the land.
Also afterwards, give the allied middle eastern countries longterm continued support to suppress radical Islam.

Also----contain all rufugees in Syria and Turkey now.
 

81usaf92

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Encourage Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to deploy massive ground troops to retake and hold the ISIS area. Let them use captured oil wells to help pay for the venture.
France, Britain, and the US provide massive air power that is well coordinated with the ground troops.
Absolutely destroy ISIS militarily.
Afterwards let the middle eastern countries have a large say in how to permanently divide up the land.
Also afterwards, give the allied middle eastern countries longterm continued support to suppress radical Islam.

Also----contain all rufugees in Syria and Turkey now.
Pakistan is more worried about the area between them and India, and Saudi Arabia is more concerned about the profitability of any action rather than the morality about it. Plus if you try to divide up Syria and Iraq up between Muslim nations you have the concern of a greater war in the Middle East between the Turks, Arabs, and Persians. Also you still have the Sunni - Shia matter as well.
 
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Jon

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Pakistan is more worried about the area between them and India, and Saudi Arabia is more concerned about the profitability of any action rather than the morality about it. Plus if you try to divide up Syria and Iraq up between Muslim nations you have the concern of a greater war in the Middle East between the Turks, Arabs, and Persians. Also you still have the Sunni - Shia matter as well.
don't forget the Kurds

and the Yizidi

some christians

a few remaining jews

the Baha'ai

and others
 

81usaf92

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don't forget the Kurds

and the Yizidi

some christians

a few remaining jews

the Baha'ai

and others
The three main groups are the Arabs, Persians, and Turks and all three hate the Kurds, Baha'is, and Jews more than each other. Oddly the Christians are the least hated and more tolerated groups in turkey, Saudi, and Iran. Bahai is the only illegal religion in Iran is even more odd
 

bobstod

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Well, this thread has been taken over by people who want to blame Obama for the mess we're in, when in fact he inherited the mess from Dubya. I got some excellent thought from some about the Christian, moral aspect of this situation, and for that I thank those who contributed it. There is some good thought here, too, about how we, as a nation, should respond. Typically, there are those who honestly believe that massive military intervention would solve everything. I don't believe that is true. I really don't have a comprehensive answer, and neither do the Joint Chiefs or the White House. Certainly, the problem cannot be thought of as an American problem; and America cannot be asked to solve it without cooperation from nations in the region where the problem exists.

I have been absent from Non-sports for a long time, and principally because of people whose opinions have been hardened so flinty-hard that they are not truly capable of open minded discussion. I don't claim to have all the answers, but I'm willing to listen to reasonable people air differing opinions. In my humble opinion, those who think they know for certain that they are right, seldom are...
 

Gr8hope

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I understand your frustration bobstod but politics are a necessary part of this discussion. The motivation of those who support or oppose the entrance of so many refugees must be considered in deciding whether it is out of charity or determination to be right.
I may be on the opposite side of many here but I truly believe Obama wants to harm us. That said, he is not going to protect us from infiltrators in the refugee groups. This frightens me for my family, especially my grandchildren. I am not opposed to the admission of some young women and small children. That is group I want to help but deny entrance to young men. The plight of many is pitiful and we can help some, even if not all.
 

bobstod

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Well, Gr8hope, I pray that you will come to peace about your belief about the president. Scripture tells us to honor our leaders, and common sense tells us that a person who wanted to harm Americans and acted to do so would be found out. I have great faith in the American people, and in the honesty and integrity of most people, American or not, so I believe that such a thing is not possible to be covered up, certainly not for seven years in office. At any rate, go with God, and peace and happiness to you and your family.
 

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