Fighting The Islamic State, While Others Join It

MORE AMERICANS then previously thought seem to be joining the Islamic State, that newly established nation covering much of the territory of the formed Iraq and the formed Syria, and dedicated to the proposition that any system of belief other than extreme fundamentalist Islam is heresy, and must be punished by death. It turns out, after careful study, that several hundred Americans, mostly of the young, dumb,and confused variety, are heading to I.S.I.S. every year, mostly by hopping on flights originating in the U.S., flying to Turkey, then finding a way to get to I.S.I.S. Not all make it all the way there, of course. A small percentage is apprehended at U.S. airports; some others in foreign countries. Those that arrive at their destination encounter a variety of mysterious fates, ranging from death to returning to America. Returning to America, after having joined I.S.I.S. and left in the first place, is probably not a good idea; the American government is treating returnees as traitors, hinting them down, trying them and locking them up. You never know; we may any day now start marching them in front of firing squads. The fact that people are leaving their native countries around that world and joining I.S.I.S. is a troubling sign; strong evidence that internet recruiting is a powerful tool. How powerful might it become, and how many more Europeans, Americans, and others will go to Iraq and Syria and work for I.S.I.S.? If this new country gets enough support, it can more likely find a way to survive, and even prosper, notwithstanding the fact that the United States and the rest of the world seems to be assuming that its only a matter or time until I.S.I.S. is wiped out. The longer we wait, the harder it will be to defeat the infamous thing. We seem to be waiting, notwithstanding the fact that nearly every country in the world has declared its opposition to the Islamic State. Obama seems to be awakening to the reality that simply bombing the damned thing every day is not going to defeat it. Soon enough, the rest of us will awaken to the horrible reality that defeating I.S.I.S. at all will require much blood, and many deaths, many of them American.