A quote from President Obama yesterday, that would have been right at home in protests of the 1960's....
"...in order for us to defeat terrorist groups like ISIL and al Qaeda it's going to also require us to discredit their ideology -- the twisted thinking that draws vulnerable people into their ranks. As I’ve said before -- and I know our military leaders agree -- this broader challenge of countering violent extremism is not simply a military effort. Ideologies are not defeated with guns; they’re defeated by better ideas..."Hmmm, are we sure about that?
Now, yes, evil ideologies must be supplanted by better ideas, but most times that supplanting must be done at the point of a gun. Those nasty evil guns....and lots of soldiers with guns, occupying enemy territory, and delivering defeat.
"Know what really discredits ideologies? Unconditional surrender, occupying their capitals, wrecking their cities, defeating their armies." - @20CommitteeTo use a time tested maxim, "Hope is not a strategy". And "No Boots on-the-Ground" is not a winning strategy either.
Better ideas can't retake Ramadi. Better ideas can't retake Mosul. And better ideas can't defeat ISIL.
Not on their own. Our better ideas require guns to conquer the evil ideas that are washing over the landscape unabated.
Evil ideologies are not just defeated with guns, they’re defeated by better ideas backed by the threat, even the use, of guns. The sooner the President realizes that, the better.
