If you were the firefighting chief of the world and you see
fires erupt in every corner of the globe, would you send firetrucks full of
gasoline to extinguish those fires?
The obvious answer is no, unless your brain is installed
upside-down inside your cranium. Well, throwing gasoline on the fire is how
Seth G. Jones is proposing America
must react to what he sees happening around the globe. He does so in the
article he wrote under the title: “Islamic State's Global Expansion” and the
subtitle: “After years of denial, the U.S.
response must now go beyond countering ISIS in Iraq
and Syria .”
It was published on June 5, 2015 in the Wall Street Journal.
Seth Jones begins the article by citing the correct observation
made to the effect that “the radical group known as ISIS or ISIL is now
expanding in a dozen countries across Africa, the Middle East and Asia by exploiting local grievances, doling out money and
leveraging its battlefield successes.” Well, the most serious grievance is that
the local officials in those countries are colluding with foreign powers to
exploit the riches of the economy so as to get wealthy themselves as well as
their cronies ... and do so at the expense of the masses. Despite these realities,
Jones wants America to
counter ISIS beyond Iraq and
Syria .
He also admits that “Islamic State's brand of Islam is not
native to many countries where it is trying to expand, and the stigma of a
foreign ideology may be a substantial barrier.” But rather than let such
barriers be the first line of defense behind which the local opposition to ISIS
gets stronger, Jones is suggesting that adding America – the most dreaded of
all foreigners – to the mix will be a good way to respond to the successes of ISIS.
In fact, he wants to douse local fires by pouring imported gasoline on them.
This is an upside-down strategy that is indicative of a brain installed
upside-down in the cranium.
And speaking of local grievances, he does not seem to
understand that they can take such shape or form as to work on people who may
not even connect with the religious component of the ISIS
appeal. This is why, as he observes: “Islamic State has increased its
operations overseas … linked around the globe in Paris ,
Ottawa , Brussels ,
Copenhagen , Sydney
and Texas … New York
and Minneapolis .”
He fails to see the wisdom in the ancient analogy that stated long ago: The
fish that seeks change swims well in the sea of discontent.
Because of that and despite all the evidence as well as the
logical arguments which are staring him in the face, he continues to dream:
“swift U.S.
action is urgently needed in these new Islamic State outposts to stop and
ultimately reverse the group's spread.” He seems hopelessly stuck in this
position, and he is not going to budge away from it.
Having admitted that the group has been exploiting local
grievances, having admitted that its victories in Iraq and Syria have
contributed to its recruiting abilities, and having observed that the group has
lots of money to give to prospective allies, Seth Jones still complains that
“the U.S. response outside Iraq and Syria has been tepid,” and that “what's
more, the U.S. and its allies did not shore up sufficient support in vulnerable
countries.” He does not see that those in control of the gasoline are weary
about sending the trucks to where they will do more damage than has been done
already.
And so, he recommends that “a successful U.S. response must now go beyond countering
Islamic State in Iraq and Syria .” The
irony is that he bases this conclusion on the moral that the response to the ISIS success “should begin with an accurate diagnosis of
the group's expansion.” And this leads him to end the article with the warning:
“Failure to do so will result in more Islamic State victories.” How much more
upside-down can someone's vision get?
What is needed to stop ISIS in its track is for America to
neutralize the damage it has already done. To be more specific, neutralize the
mischief that the Jewish manipulation of American foreign policy has committed,
and neutralize the effect of the Jewish propaganda machine whose message to the
world has been and continues to be that America is working to crush the weak,
like the Muslims, by siding with the strong like the Jews – especially those in
Israel it has itself propped up.