The Expanding Crisis in the Middle East

There's no question that the situation in the Middle East is getting worse. Every attempt to stabilize the situation, whether by Israel, the US and UN has failed as has attempts made indirectly by the Turkey, Egypt, and Iran. The Taliban in Afghanistan is essentially back to where it was before the US intervened. Iraq, long a powerful buffer state under Saddam Hussein, is ruined. The best case scenario now appears to be a divided nation between the Kurds to the North, the majority Shiites in the South, and the current threat, the majority Sunni ISIS, whose intent is to create a radical Sunni theocratic state.

Iran, which is mostly Shiite, sees this latest gang of thugs as an immediate threat to their plans for the Middle East as ISIS seeks to create a regional caliphate, which I suspect doesn't include Shiites--Iranian or otherwise. As a result, I wouldn't be surprised in the least to see either Iran or its surrogate in Lebanon, Hezbollah, to directly confront ISIS. However, this could have far reaching complications since ISIS is believed to be supported financially by Saudi Arabia, a key oil exporter to the US and supposedly regional ally. ISIS is rumored to have been, at least in the beginning, like Al Qaeda, a creation of the CIA. Without a doubt, it is an offshoot of the terrorist organization, however, Al Qaeda has publically disavowed ISIS as being too extreme. Now that should send shivers down your spine. Nevertheless, if true, any potential American engagement could have an impact on the flow of oil. Any interruptions or hint of interruptions will mean increased prices for drivers at the pump and with winter approaching, higher fuel oil prices to heat homes and businesses. At present, ISIS is in control of large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria, where Assad's government retains power and appears to be holding its own for now.

However, with all this ongoing violence, one group in particular has come under immediate threat---the 100,000 or so Christians living in and around the capital of Mosul; a small portion of the some 1.2 million Iraqis who have thus far been displaced. ISIS has publically stated that all individuals who fail to convert to their version of Sunni Islam will be killed; the men generally beheaded and the women and children brutalized, raped and often sold off if not murdered outright. Thus far, some 130 Christian children have been reportedly kidnapped by ISIS. Those who convert must also pay a special fine. ISIS has shown its willingness to follow through with its threats, and hundreds, if not thousands, have already been crucified or beheaded, with their heads being placed on fence posts. Meanwhile, churches and non-Sunni Mosques are being destroyed or converted.

Now, with the fall of Mosul and the historical city of Qaraqosh, the largest and second largest cities in Iraq respectively, there are no longer any Christians there for the first time in 2000 years; the surrounding towns and villages too are empty of Christians. Meanwhile, other minorities such as the Yezidi and the Shita Moslems, who are also facing genocide, have fled north into the Sinjar mountains where they hope to eventually find shelter in the Kurdish controlled region of Iraq as while Kurdish paramilitary units from Syria and northern Iraq have moved south to help protect the fleeing population of some 300,000. ISIS units have repeatedly tried to cut off the fleeing refugees with missile and mortar attacks.

Amid this chaos, desperate calls have gone out to the UN, the US, the UK, and numerous religious organizations for humanitarian aid. If it's not received quickly, there is the strong likelihood of death as a result of inadequate food, water, medicine, and shelter. It will also mark the end of Christianity in the region as well. The US has provided some minor initial support by bombing ISIS missile batteries which have been used in murdering those sheltering on the barren mountain side while additional US planes have dropped some critically needs supplies. The hard-pressed Iraqi government has also air dropped some aide but none of this is anywhere near enough for their survival.

Unfortunately, Iraq hasn't been the only place Christians and other minorities have come under siege. Under the Egyptian President Morsi, the Moslem Brotherhood (of which he was a member) turned a blind eye to violent attacks, rapes and murders of the historically peaceful Christian communities along the Nile. There were several reports of young children being taken from Christian families and sold, after being forcefully converted. It wasn't until the Egyptian military removed Morsi from power did the level of attacks stop. However, the hatred and random acts of violence continues. This same scenario has been repeated in Libya, Tunisia, and more recently, in Nigeria where another Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram, has laid siege to several villages and killed thousands while capturing young----some as young as 7 years old, mostly Christian, girls for sex slaves; some as young as 10 are being used as suicide bombers. A few have managed to escape, but the fate of the others appears grim. Meanwhile, the Nigeria military appears to be unable to do much of anything to prevent the attacks amid reports while facing charging of their own of murder of thousands of Nigerian villagers amid corruption, ineptitude of its leadership and poor training and equipping of its soldiers.

Of course, these are merely excerpts to remind you, the reader, of what I've previously written, namely that the West, and indeed the East, are in a openly declared "holy war" with the teachings of a radical no holds barred form of Islam. These individuals don't want your Madison Avenue fashions. They don't want your consumer based capitalism or your utopian communism. They aren't interested in your compassionate "live and let live" philosophies, and they 're especially not the least bit interested in your democracies in their various forms. These individuals want from you nothing less than your complete and total subjugation to their version of a Islamic theocratic state or your death.

Gone will be your freedoms; your color TVs, music, styles of dress, books, video games, movies, and much of what you now take for granted. If you're gay you're dead. If you're female, you will lose all personal rights. Even your right to drive or go anywhere without a male escort will be gone. There will be no liquor. No smoking. No pork. Even many of your favorite sports will be gone (and ladies, you won't be competing anymore so don't worry). You won't be able to buy them off no matter how much you make. You won't be able to make any "deals", and the only "understanding" you'll reach with them is your immediate acceptance of Allah or your immediate death. You see dear reader, they firmly believe they are fighting for their god, and, therefore, one cannot negotiate or compromise because God doesn't negotiate or compromise. They unwaveringly believe that every Christian, Jew, Buddhist, Hindu, atheist, pagan, Taoist, Humanist, or non-accepting Moslem they kill is a guarantee of their admission to heaven, so how can you expect to argue with their logic?

America, and indeed the world is facing a growing and very dangerous threat. The only question is whether we have the will to fight for what we believe---our faith; our form of government; our culture; our collective values; our families. I don't know about Mumbai, or Moscow, London, or Berlin, or Beijing, but the government is Washington has shown itself repeatedly to act to slowly, if it acts at all. It's interest, now that we've lost our democratic republic to the Oligarchy that is the 1% and global corporatists who control it. is that we, the ordinary hardworking working men and women who built this nation will be sacrificed to buy them time as we have so many times before. So, America, what are you prepared to do?

Amid Ethnic Cleansing of Christians, ISIS Now Massacres Iraq's Yezidi Minority
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2014/08/05/Yezidis-Suffer-as-Much-as-Christians-Under-ISIS-in-Iraq

ISIS overtakes Iraq's largest Christian city
http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/07/world/meast/iraq-isis-christian-city/

Religious leaders say Isis persecution of Iraqi Christians has become genocide
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/08/isis-persecution-iraqi-christians-genocide-asylum

Iraq Crisis: End 'very near' for Christianity after Isis takeover, says Bishop
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iraq-crisis-bishop-of-baghdad-warns-end-could-be-very-near-for-christianity-after-isis-takeover-9630554.html

The Islamic State's bloody campaign to exterminate minorities
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/08/07/the-islamic-states-bloody-campaign-to-exterminate-minorities-even-genghis-khan-didnt-do-this/?tid=hp_mm

Egypt's Christians under attack since Morsi's ouster
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/08/15/egypt-coptic-church-islamists/2640419/

The New Crisis in Iraq

In what can only be described in terms of Vietnam, thousands of US trained, financed, and equipped Iraqi soldiers tucked tail and ran in face of the onslaught of "The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISSI). Those of us old enough to have fought in Vietnam, or at least remember the unwhitewashed version of events will recall how, after announcing the gradual withdrawal of US combat troops from Vietnam, the US military undertook what was called the "Vietnamization" of the South Vietnamese troops ("ARVN"), starting with the development of a core of group leadership within the South Vietnamese military, followed by upgrading of equipment, which included weapons, tanks, artillery, helicopters, and training of regular soldiers. However, as North Vietnamese regulars ("NVA") and Viet Cong, the guerrilla irregular forces also known as the "NLF", advanced, the South Vietnamese military crumbed and fled; throwing away weapons and uniforms along the way. Not much different here.

The ISSI is an extremist Sunni Moslem guerrilla force with a history of fighting in Syria's long and bloody civil war, which makes them battle hardened. It's goal is to create a strictly interrupted Sunni oriented Islamic state. What sets them apart from other Islamic groups, including Al Qaeda, is their brutality; so much so that even Al Qaeda (which is also Sunni) has disavowed them and Iran, which is predominately Shiite, may intervene. When Al Qaeda and Iran are nervous, that's worth noting. With Obama's announcement of a US withdrawal timetable from Iraq, a tactical mistake, groups are rushing in to fill the void in light of a highly unstable, untested, and corrupt government (much like Afghanistan). You will recall that the US trained Iraqi (and Afghani) soldiers have proved to be unreliable, especially in light of their sudden attacks on fellow US soldiers, much like the Viet Cong did after infiltrating the South Vietnamese military (in both cases, usually reported by the corporate media as "friendly fire").

In quick succession, the ISSI has overrun towns and cities that took months for US forces to bring under control, not including the hundreds if not thousands of US and Coalition troops wounded, maimed, and killed in the attempt. Thus far, thousands of retreating and deserting of Iraqi soldiers and civilians have been executed or wounded, with hundreds of young girls and women reportedly raped. United Nations observers report a stream of some 300,000 refugees pouring into neighboring countries, which are already overflowing with refuges from previous wars. Their economies are already stretched to the breaking point (the US had previously taken in some 85,000). And, as in all situations such as this, food, water, shelter, medicine, and sanitation become very real life or death issues. Meanwhile, the ISSI have captured several weapon depots full of US military equipment and material; much of it expected to see action in the seizure of Baghdad and the rest of Iraq and perhaps even in Syria or against neighboring Iran or Jordan;. While their goal is nothing short of establishing a strict Sunni oriented Islamic State, the Shiite majorities in Southern Iraq and neighboring Iran may still have something to say about this. However, if there's one positive in all of this, the much maligned Kurds have use this opportunity to seize areas long claimed in the north.

While many will be quick to jump on the Obama Administration for this latest crisis, let's not forget that it was George W. Bush and Dick Cheney who got us into the quagmire in the first place. Under the guise of "weapons of mass destruction", Bush decided to pick up where his daddy, George Bush Sr. left off in the first Gulf War ("Desert Storm"). There was no need to invade Iraq as we all now know. Saddam Hussein had no "weapons of mass destruction". His ground and air defenses had been decimated previously by coalition troops. There was an effective "no fly" zone in place, and what's more important, Hussein, for the tyrant he was, kept the religious extremists in check. He ruled Iraq with an iron fist. He had demonstrated repeatedly that he could be far crueler than his enemies; an important treat in a maniacal dictator. The main reasons I suspect were to install a regime friendly to US and Western corporate interests and to gain some measure of control of Iraqi oil facilities, and to be able to put US troops on the doorstep of Iran. Hussein, the US installed strongman, had become to unreliable. The invasion of Iraq and subsequent death of Hussein will long be remembered as a tremendous intelligence and political blunder and perhaps the turning point in US global dominance. As the old saying goes, "the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know".

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently said that the ISSI and its rapid success was a total surprise. If she really means that, then her competence in strategic analysis is truly lacking. Given the history and instability of the region, there was no way a political void would be tolerated. The Iraqi (and indeed, the Afghani and Syrian) government is ineffective. It has little to no credibility with the majority of the people. While the West and other nations may think the democracy is the greatest thing since sliced bread, democracy is not for everybody. In fact, of the nations around the world that have embraced democracy, not a single one has embraced the American form of democracy. Instead, they adopt the English form of proportional representation . Some societies, however, prefer a "strong arm" government. They feel secure. Crime is not much of an issue since these types of governments have a serious "zero tolerance" attitude toward crime (except their own). The economy is generally stable and they're free from fear of the types of uncertainty that a democracy can bring. Theocracies, on the other hand, have often proven to be the most oppressive and retardant forms of government.

Of course, I'm not praising dictatorships. Not at all. But what I am saying is that we have to have a foreign policy which respects the traditions and desires of other peoples. Too many times the US has intervened to overthrow a democratically elected government because it didn't fit with our foreign policy objectives (but ironically, we've usually supported the installation of right wing military juntas; most of which have proven to be very brutal), which is more often than not dictated by corporate interests rather than humanitarian interests.

As of this writing, Obama is trying to figure out how to salvage the situation. It should be an interesting decision for him. Obama's Presidency has been, up to now, a near complete failure (he's likely to go down in history as America's worse, and perhaps most divisive President). He desperately needs "something" to show that he can be a tough and effective leader (he could learn much from Russia's Vladimir Putin in that regard). This crisis in Iraq may well be that "something". He didn't start the war. It was something he inherited from the previous administration. But how he resolves it may show whether or not this rather politically inexperienced former community organizer has the right mettle. But, as always in such matters, at what costs to the American People will his legacy be forged?

Hillary Clinton Warns Of Jihadists
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/12/hillary-clinton-syria-islamist-state_n_5486133.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular&icid=maing-grid7%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl13%7Csec3_lnk4%26pLid%3D488630

Iraqi Kurds Seize Oil Rich City of Kirkuk
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/12/iraq-kurds-seize-kirkuk_n_5487184.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular


UN: 300,000 Iraqis Became Refugees This Week
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/13/iraq-refugees_n_5491139.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

Iraqi Insurgency: Hundreds May Have Been Killed During Sacking Of Mosul
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/13/iraq-insurgency-mosul-human-rights-reports_n_5491023.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

4 Key Things To Know About The Islamic Surge In Iraq
http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/06/12/321376130/four-key-things-to-know-about-the-islamist-surge-in-iraq?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social