Multiple attacks in Paris

[SP33Demon]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34853657

3 suspects have been killed.

Saadana Aymen, a 29-year-old who lives one street down, couldn't believe what was happening in his neighborhood.

"When you think of Saint-Denis, you don't think of terrorists," he told CNN. "I'm shocked! Why would the terrorists pick this neighborhood?"

lol. Save that quote for the future attack on [insert Westernized nation].

 

[MongGrel]

Look, I wear those boots they're talking about and here's my take.

ISIS needs to be starved to death. They feed themselves with propaganda and money. They swell their ranks through social media.

Boots on the ground will only elevate their position in the world and attract more of their type. Plus, they're killing more Muslims than they are anyone else.

I firmly believe our Commander in Chief has purposely delayed broader action to try to draw in others around globe. It seems to be working. Sadly though our "allies" in the region that purchase billions of dollars annually in some of the latest military hardware are content to sit inside their borders and let others do their dirty work. Yes, I'm looking at you Saudi Arabia, Qatar, etc...

+1

On a side note, I'm sure there are thousands of known targets in the ME that could be hit at any moment, it is a matter of how much collateral damage would be done based on the accuracy of the intel at any given time.

 

[maddogchen]

Sadly though our "allies" in the region that purchase billions of dollars annually in some of the latest military hardware are content to sit inside their borders and let others do their dirty work. Yes, I'm looking at you Saudi Arabia, Qatar, etc...

Both have troops fighting and dying in Yemen. They are too busy with that.

 

[destrekor]

I firmly believe our Commander in Chief has purposely delayed broader action to try to draw in others around globe. It seems to be working. Sadly though our "allies" in the region that purchase billions of dollars annually in some of the latest military hardware are content to sit inside their borders and let others do their dirty work. Yes, I'm looking at you Saudi Arabia, Qatar, etc...

Yup, that seems to be the greater intent at the moment, at least that's how I would do things.

Once the problem swells to a large enough size, it will come a time when the other M.E. nations will have no choice but to jump in. That they haven't yet is disgusting, but why should they spend Defense money when other nations are doing a ton of bombing runs?

Iran and Saudi Arabia are definitely anti-ISIS, but are content to only put forth a minimal effort.

Why do we need to spend the money?

 

[MarkXIX]

Both have troops fighting and dying in Yemen. They are too busy with that.

I'm aware of that, however, know that they are trying to quell Houthi rebels who happen to be a Shiite faction of Islam. ISIS on the other hand are heavily Sunni like Saudi Arabia (SA).

So, let's be honest, SA is only worried about ensuring that THEIR predominant version if Islam isn't degraded because the rulers of SA know that they second that they start eliminating Sunni terrorists, their rule will start to end.

 

[MarkXIX]

Yup, that seems to be the greater intent at the moment, at least that's how I would do things.

Once the problem swells to a large enough size, it will come a time when the other M.E. nations will have no choice but to jump in. That they haven't yet is disgusting, but why should they spend Defense money when other nations are doing a ton of bombing runs?

Iran and Saudi Arabia are definitely anti-ISIS, but are content to only put forth a minimal effort.

Why do we need to spend the money?

Saudi Arabia is only anti-ISIS insofar as they don't want to piss off their Western allies. As I said immediately above, ISIS is heavily Sunni as is the population of SA.

Anyone interested in a long, meandering read of things that led to 9/11 should read Ghost Wars. It's dry, but it's fairly accurate.

 

[destrekor]

Saudi Arabia is only anti-ISIS insofar as they don't want to piss off their Western allies. As I said immediately above, ISIS is heavily Sunni as is the population of SA.

Anyone interested in a long, meandering read of things that led to 9/11 should read Ghost Wars. It's dry, but it's fairly accurate.

True, forgot about the shared ideology.

If any of the M.E. countries with large Sunni populations are finding themselves rooting for ISIS, that definitely does not help, but you won't see any specific action other than underground funding... which is a problem in of itself but not terrible either, at least in the grand scheme of things. They get more money from hostages and private donations.

On the Sunni-Shia divide, I guess we only have Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon to help out (with the Syrian government and Yemen in the mix but not very helpful, for obvious reasons) and Iran will help out slightly because they don't want to see their neighbor Iraq overrun by Sunni extremists now that the Shia majority have the political control of the country. Hezbollah might have something to offer but on a much smaller scale than larger militaries.

But sadly, the Iraqi military is nearly 100% coward, and only the volunteer freedom fighters and the Kurdish Peshmerga actually have any balls to them and are willing to try and take back their land.

 

[destrekor]

I'm aware of that, however, know that they are trying to quell Houthi rebels who happen to be a Shiite faction of Islam. ISIS on the other hand are heavily Sunni like Saudi Arabia (SA).

So, let's be honest, SA is only worried about ensuring that THEIR predominant version if Islam isn't degraded because the rulers of SA know that they second that they start eliminating Sunni terrorists, their rule will start to end.

I think SA simply wants to ensure that SA continues to exist as it is today. It could be argued that they could fight ISIS and not face any harm to their own country (at least, that threatens its existence and future) or to the Sunni ideologies. Not all Sunni's believe in the current waves of extremism, although it sure seems like most are rooting one way or the other.

It could, of course, also be argued that if they were to oppose ISIS, that Sunni extremism could threaten to destabilize SA in favor of a more Sunni extremist-friendly government.

But, I don't see any of that even happening, as it is likely that SA's ruling class is privately funneling money to ISIS... it is said that ISIS's branch of radical Sunni ideology is heavily linked to the Salafi movement, which is, of course, the ideology of the SA ruling class. Whether SA supports the methods and doctrines of ISIS is ultimately the question here.