War and Optimism

[Asuras]

In light of the recent defilement of ancient history by ISIL, I became increasingly more frustrated with their actions to the point of (quite literally) wishing nothing but dreadful harm upon its members. I understand such rage can cloud judgement, but as I came to and subsequently returned to a feeling of anger, I realized that there (for me), there is little room for alternative options in dealing with an irrational force.

I watched a few videos of US attacks on ISIL in an attempt to cool off, but only further realized the hopelessness of the situation; once again, by intervening militarily (we're not the only ones either) we continue to damage civilian homes, and outright kill or injure civilians themselves.

At what point can we no longer be optimistic about our options in dealing with a violent and dangerous organization/country? Is there always an alternative? Is the unintended killing of civilians justified by the purpose behind them? What do you think?

 

[Gwazi Magnum]

My patience with ISIS ended months ago, back when they were sawing off the heads of 5 years old as an intimidation tactic.

As for Optimism?
I've long accepted the fact that just charging into something guns blazing is a terrible way to solve something like saving innocents.
Hell that was one of my criticisms of the Kony 2012 movement even, that even assuming they found Kony (which was very unlikely) the military attack would kill the very children they wanted to save.

Plus is cases like ISIS?
They know the land, they know where to go, where to hide.
They know how to turn the cheapest of materials, and even children into weapons.
So even if we did successfully storm them they'd still be around. They're not a group easily crushed in such a manner.

So in the end? I honestly don't see much in how we could possibly solve this.
I mean we can take preventative measures, stuff like education to stop dogmatic religious thinking.
That way people aren't in a mindset to become terrorists to begin with.

But that really doesn't do much to address the current terrorists we have to deal with at the moment.

 

[Dervish]

Leaving them alone is just letting the violent cancer grow. Already, countless thousands of lives have been lost to ISIS, and those unfortunate enough to still live under their thumb are oppressed, their freedoms removed. If you find the destruction of several thousand year old artifacts being senselessly destroyed upsetting, you do not want to read about what they do to women.

These people cannot be negotiated with or steered from their vile, hateful path. They need to be destroyed, quartered limb from limb until they cannot rise again. Civilians suffer the worst in any war, and this one is no different. The only difference is no matter the destruction those who fight ISIS cause to civilian infrastructure, timidly shying away from them is worse for the people stuck under their rule. This is a situation that will only get worse before it gets better.

 

[Gwazi Magnum]

And to think a lot of this could have been avoided if America and Russia just didn't involve other countries in their cold war... >.<

 

[ASTA]

I watched a few videos of US attacks on ISIL in an attempt to cool off, but only further realized the hopelessness of the situation; once again, by intervening militarily (we're not the only ones either) we continue to damage civilian homes, and outright kill or injure civilians themselves.

Collateral damage is an unfortunate but largely unavoidable consequence of organized warfare; innocent people are going to perish in every armed conflict waged between two (or more) opposing powers.

From what little I do know of ISIS, they're a group that needs to be done away with, but I have to seriously wonder whether or not the West had anything to do with its initial formation and whether or not the anger that ISIS projects can be justified--at least in an objective sort of way--on some level.

 

[Space Cowboy]

ISIS/ISIL needs to be destroyed. Period. It's much more powerful than anyone in the western world truly realizes, with membership rising every day. Their members are taking on the military organizations in the region and utterly wiping them out. The only regional ground forces that have been any effective have been the Kurds, and they're only worrying about their own lands.

To be effective, we need to truly adopt the tactics that will allow us to do what needs to be done. And we need to do it in full agreement with the local government, with them leading the charge. And unfortunately, it's going to look like war atrocity on our end, for the simple fact that collateral damage is an inescapable side effect of war.

Rock and a hard place, as it were. ISIS needs to go, and we, the United States/UN forces, cannot visibly do anything without, again, looking like an aggressor against the Muslim world and further fueling future ISIS-like agenda.

It sucks.