Islam in Europe: perception and reality

[abaris]

Do you think we are justified in waging war against a group like ISIS or the Taliban? And if so, don't you have to acknowledge that it is a reality that civilians will die as a result of our bombs; do you think that this automatically makes our fight unethical?

The question isn't the if, it's the how. Do we run a recruitment office for ISIL or other extremists, thereby actually making the problem worse? My answer would be a yes, for reasons I have given in this thread.

My point is the same since 2003 when all this military madness started. This isn't a war with an opposing army and an opposing government to negotiate terms. This is as assymetrical as it gets. If you want to take out opposing leaders, fine. But do it the Israeli way, by planning it out and employing agents on the ground to take care of them. Don't determine, simply by spotting something from above that could or couldn't be enemy combatants, to run an air strike. These are regions were everybody is traditionally armed and firing into the air is part of ceremonies, among them weddings. A few of them have been bombed. And killing the groom or the bride, doesn't exactly win hearts and minds.

It's the Gung Ho approach I'm opposed to. Often, as has been proven, with insufficient reconnaissance and general knowledge of the country and it's traditions. Not the action in itself.