I am skeptical of the entire ISIS operation.

[kentuck]

I am not so sure they are not allied with the Syrian government of Assad. Since Russia, Syria's long-time ally, is busy trying to take over Ukraine, it would be a great diversion.

Also, I tend to believe it is about who controls the oil fields in Iraq? The US and its allies cannot afford to have Syria or ISIS control the oil fields and to control the wealth from those oil fields. That wealth could buy more and more weaponry, which could not only threaten Iraq and other allies in the region, but also could be a bigger threat to Israel, our number one ally in the region.

Also, I am skeptical of the military threat posed by a small army with no air force or navy. They may be a threat to their immediate area but I do not see the international threat that our intelligence and military experts see?

I think the American people may have been conned once again, just as they were before the Iraq invasion.

Bottom line, it is to protect the oil wells for American interests. It is the oil fields that are being threatened moreso than the people of this country. Just my humble opinion.

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. That PLUS the al-Qaida-affiliated Khorasan Group in Syria we also bombed

because the WH thinks THEY were plotting of an 'imminent' attack against the US.

Who-How-When- was never mentioned.



[font style=color:#FF0000;]"Here's what I think the truth is: We are all addicts of fossil fuels in a state of denial, about to face cold turkey.
And like so many addicts about to face cold turkey, our leaders are now committing violent crimes to get what little is left of what we’re hooked on." [/font]
Kurt Vonnegut

[Vattel]

2. I agree with some of the skepticism,

but how could ISIS be allied with Assad? They have been at war with each other, no?

[randome]

3. You know, sometimes dangerous thugs are simply dangerous thugs.

This isn't about oil unless you have the preconception that it is. This is not PNAC. This is not invading a sovereign country for power.

ISIS is a dangerous terrorist threat to anyone they encounter. And they need to be stopped.

The simplest explanation is usually the one with the most truth.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Treat your body like a machine. Your mind like a castle.[/center][/font][hr]

[trumad]

7. Not about Oil

It's always about Oil.

[J_J_]

9. Mushroom clouds, yellowcake, UAV's, suitcase nukes oh my!!!!

And sometimes the US media lies, making up excuses to make extra money, looting the treasury for 1%ers


US media are the dangerous thugs.

[Scuba]

12. This isn't about oil ...

... except that it is.

[CJCRANE]

13. Occam's Razor works best when you have all of the facts.

That's the flaw in appeals to Occam's Razor.

What seems like the simplest explanation may in fact be disproved when you get more information.

[Caretha]

20. Here let me fix it for you

You know, sometimes dangerous thugs are simply dangerous thugs.

This isn't about oil unless you have the preconception that it is. This is not PNAC. This is not invading a sovereign country for power.

ISIS Al Queda is a dangerous terrorist threat to anyone they encounter. And they Saddam need(s) to be stopped.

The simplest explanation is usually the one with the most truth.

[bobduca]

21. Obsequious

[cali]

22. over simplifying is much more a rampant problem

on such issues than complex, nuanced thought that encompasses history and information..

[kentuck]

4. Also, I would not discount the animosity between Putin and Obama

Going back to Putin's refusal to turn over Edward Snowden and his invasion of Ukraine, which Obama viewed as a smack in the fsce.

[randome]

6. I was taking you seriously until that. Sorry. Won't let it happen again.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Treat your body like a machine. Your mind like a castle.[/center][/font][hr]

[kentuck]

10. Funny. I didn't think your previous comment was taking anyone seriously either.

Truth is the first casualty in war and I doubt that this "war" is any different. Just like Bush didn't like that Saddam tried to "kill his Daddy", leaders sometimes make decisions for personal reasons. It is not unheard of.

[CJCRANE]

14. The Russians see it the other way round.

They think that Obama suddenly changed.

I too noticed a sudden switcheroo in the media and political attitude to Russia before the Ukraine crisis.

The answer is probably somewhere in the middle.

[J_J_]

5. the same lying fearmongering media led the lies before, why would anyone believe them now?

I think a person would have to be pretty damn stupid to not be skeptical.

[Marr]

8. I'm not convinced it's an actual organization. It seems like marketing;

like a slick name applied to a patchwork of little militias and groups of thugs. So you could say ISIS is doing any number of things, and allied with/funded by any number of people/groups-- because it's basically just shorthand for 'people who are violently opposed to the west, and live in this general area'.

[morningfog]

16. And really only the one jihadi john killing on video.

If you think about it, it is the videos that were used to inflame the west into action and it was the same person in all three videos. Did we launch a multi-year war for one guy?

[CJCRANE]

19. And in six months' time

maybe the President will say 'he's not important, I don't think about him anymore".

How dumbed down are we that we need someone called 'Jihadi John' to goad us into war?

I wonder what other names they came up with before they settled on that one?

John Q. Jihadi?

Extremist Eric?

...

[951-Riverside]

11. Re: "I am not so sure they (ISIS) are not allied with the Syrian government of Assad"

Fuck it! This is getting absurd.

Just cut the bullshit and bomb the shit out of Assad, let the rebels take it all and fuck over whatever is left. I'm just sick and tired of the spin, the propaganda, the bullshit and the excuses, just go in there and get it done with then move on to the next country.

Lets be honest here, its not like the American people will do anything except spend a weekend walking around DC or NY like cattle and mooing about "No war", "bring our troops home", "sign my online petition maaaan" then head to their little poling boxes where they get to vote for one of two candidates that have been pre-selected for them.

[cali]

15. waaay too much CT for me.

They are certainly not allied with Assad. Look at how they've been targeting Alawites.

but yes, oil is a factor and I believe the threat of ISIS is being magnified and exploited.

[HereSince1628]

17. They are demonstrated to be cut-throats, it all hangs on believing they are them

We are told to believe western nations are at existential risk because a few people had their throats cut. Even though, the US wasn't at existential risk when thousands were killed on Sept 11th, or when Colin Powell held up a vial of air threatening the world at the UN.

But these throat cutters openly tell us they hate us and want to cut our throats. And although these throat-cutters don't have aluminum tubes, these throat cutters 'could' hold passports that would facilitate their return to their western homelands where they could do more throat-cutting, or worse (cue mushroom cloud anxieties) which would end democracy and our (ordained by god) way of life.

Just how does an intelligent well informed population distinguish such explanations from the alternative: using loud noises to drive ignorant beasts toward the guns?

[NightWatcher]

18. You've said what I believe, but way more eloquently than I ever could this early in the AM

"Loud noises to drive ignorant beasts toward the guns" (I'm using that one). They are making sure that we will never be an intelligent well informed population. We overreact to videos of beheadings and the rantings of mad men who pose no real threat.