So we either go in there ourselves and stay there indefinitely with our finger plugging the dam, or we fund/arm/train some other group to fight ISIS - who could we help control the region without brutal, sectarian war flaring up again the minute we stop helping them? (these questions aren't rhetorical, i'm genuinely asking, I haven't heard these questions answered in the media)
You say it's counter-productive to our interests but what are those interests, obviously power and money but the official line is that we're fighting evil and stopping the spread of radical Islam, there's plenty of evil and plenty of radical Islam in the world, if we're fighting religious barbarism then there's a few other Muslim countries we should be invading, we can't fight all of it. And it can't be in our interest to spend however much money we're going to end up spending fighting ISIS, can it?
The argument that it's our mess to clean up is the most persuasive imo, maybe if we keep fucking up and making the situation worse and worse there'll come a time where we can say, "ok, this couldn't possibly be any worse, it's perfect for more war and nation building! there's nothing to lose!"
You say it's counter-productive to our interests but what are those interests, obviously power and money but the official line is that we're fighting evil and stopping the spread of radical Islam, there's plenty of evil and plenty of radical Islam in the world, if we're fighting religious barbarism then there's a few other Muslim countries we should be invading, we can't fight all of it. And it can't be in our interest to spend however much money we're going to end up spending fighting ISIS, can it?
The argument that it's our mess to clean up is the most persuasive imo, maybe if we keep fucking up and making the situation worse and worse there'll come a time where we can say, "ok, this couldn't possibly be any worse, it's perfect for more war and nation building! there's nothing to lose!"
“The larger the group, the more toxic, the more of your beauty as an individual you have to surrender for the sake of group thought. And when you suspend your individual beauty you also give up a lot of your humanity. You will do things in the name of a group that you would never do on your own. Injuring, hurting, killing, drinking are all part of it, because you've lost your identity, because you now owe your allegiance to this thing that's bigger than you are and that controls you.” - George Carlin
