WARNING: Links that are in bold are to very gruesome pictures and video. If you choose to view them, it is at your own risk. I include them to show the extent of the savagery of elements who are of key importance to Americans
While I realize that the title of this post would qualify for a “No s***!” response by many of the regulars, there are a number of naive persons, particularly in our government, who seem to not get that.
In Europe, Russia has taken Crimea and has invaded Ukraine. While most European nations appear to be outraged at this development, it’s not like they are in a position to present a material threat to a Russia that is led by a sly, intelligent strategist who wishes to return Mother Russia to her old glory and has warned the world of his country’s nuclear capacity.
The United States is in no credible position to fight this one, and Putin knows it. We are downsizing our military, the public does not have the political will for a war with Russia, we have neither the troops in the pipeline nor the money in the war chest to fight them, and a draft would be a political disaster. Similarly, Western Europe is not exactly in a high state of combat readiness on this one either.
Other than economic sanctions and protests to and from the United Nations, Ukraine is on her own. Russia will almost certainly win this one, and–make no mistake–this is a major blow to the power of the United States.
Meanwhile, in Syria and Iraq, ISIS/IS/ISIL/Whatever-the-hell-they-call-themselves today continues to take air bases, oil fields, and cities, imposing Sharia-on-steroids, mass executions, strangling women to death, forcing Christians to “convert or die”, and selling Yazidi women into sex slavery.
Our Defense Secretary–Chuck Hagel, a Purple Heart veteran of Vietnam who should know better–says that “ISIS is beyond anything we’ve seen”. Apparently, he has forgottten about the atrocities of the Japanese in WWII, the Nazi concentration camps, the killing fields in Cambodia, Mao’s slaughters in China, The NVA’s atrocities against South Vietnamese, Stalin’s purges and mass murders, Lenin’s Cheka, the Turkish genocide against the Armenians, but I digress.
No, seriously, while the violence of ISIS is troubling, it is comparable to what often goes on south of our own border.
What’s the difference between ISIS strangling a woman to death and a cartel enforcer beheading a teenage girl?
Mexican carteliers also seek to intimidate in ways that ISIS can appreciate, beheading enemies with chainsaws.
And while Iran is known for hanging criminals, Mexican cartels are doing the same.
I realize that Cartels are, at least technically-speaking, outlaws, even if we have been known to provide weapons to them. The same can be said for ISIS, which wages war against recognized sovereign governments. Oh wait, we armed them, too.
While it is true that most of the extreme cartel violence is south of our border, Mexico is flooding our country with “children”, some of whom work for the cartels. At least ISIS is over there, not over here.
Oh, wait!
But I’m sure that our Dear Leader, who has admitted that he has no strategy for dealing with ISIS, has this under control.