Don't "drink the Kool-Aid!"

Lately I've heard much about the threat of radical Islam on the mainstream media as well as the emotional responses on Facebook to the ISIS beheadings. Don't get me wrong, radical Islam is a threat to individual security; however, so are any other type of radical extremists. Before you go supporting military intervention and more war, consider the following:

Are you willing to give up your freedom to prevent an attack by a radical Muslim? If so, why not from rapists and serial killers here at home? Why not from white radical groups like the KKK and Neo-Nazis? How about gangs here in the United States that require random acts of violence and even murder for initiation? When people talk about a "threat to national security," what do they mean? Is ISIS going to buy an aircraft carrier and conduct precision attacks on military and government targets? Not likely, and I'd even wager, impossible unless our government lets it happen. Otherwise, why are we paying for this huge homeland security and national defense apparatus?

My point is this. The world, including America, is an imperfect place. We the people have to accept that imperfection, just as we accept the risks involved with driving a car or going anywhere in public for that matter.

Last week, a friend of mine told me a horrible story about a 67 year old lady who was raped and nearly beaten to death in broad daylight in a mall parking lot in Hot Springs, AR. It really made me sick. Luckily, the woman survived, but she is in bad shape. At least they caught the criminal who committed the crime. My point in bringing this up is that this case is just as disturbing as beheadings by radicals in the Middle East. I have a wife and kids that I worry about a little more now, but I'm not willing to send the military into mall parking lots to prevent possible crimes. However, I am willing to make sure my wife is competent with her gun, pepper spray, and self-defense techniques. I'm willing to talk to my kids about what not to let other people do to them and to teach them their address and phone numbers. This idea that we are not responsible for our own well-being is directly connected to our willingness to send troops to war so easily. "It's the cops' job to keep me safe" leads to "it's the military's job to go around the world to destroy all bad guys." It's the Department of Defense, not offense. And yes, constitutionally speaking, Congress must declare war. The President just can't send troops anywhere there is a perceived threat.

Similar to the rape story, there was a beheading in Oklahoma last week by an alleged radical Muslim. Should we implement martial law, or maybe set up Muslim internment camps like we did for the Japanese during World War 2? Some have suggested this, and even banning Islam from the United States. How about we educate ourselves on how to combat violent crimes just as we do when they would come from a serial killer or rapist? It doesn't matter what someone's religion is if they are trying to harm you. The only way to protect yourself is by escalating the level of force and violence (winning a fight), or getting away from the situation faster than the attacker can pursue. Keep my original point in mind though; we must be willing to accept imperfection, meaning some people will always end up as victims. That's just the way it is. But striving to reach a Utopian society has always resulted with negative unintended consequences (Karl Marx leads to Joseph Stalin, LBJ's "Great Society" leads to more poverty and segregation, Reagan's War on Drugs leads to mass incarceration for minor offenses). All of these failed programs come at a high cost to the taxpayer (or to our creditors).

At this point, you might be saying to yourself; "Yeah, but if our military goes over there and gets rid of them, we won't have to worry about it over here." I can't tell you how many times I have heard that since 9/11/2001. Hell, I even bought into that baloney for a while. So if the last 13 years of war isn't enough to prove that theory wrong, then let's look at some other facts:

1. Islamic terrorism has only started to target the United States since 1983 (Beruit, Lebanon). This attack and all subsequent attacks have been blamed, by the perpetrators, on American foreign policy. If it was truly because "they hate our freedom," then why not start attacking us way sooner and why not just say it is because they are waging a war against non-Muslims? The list of grievances by the terrorists has always been that they don't want U.S. involvement in Middle Eastern affairs.

2. ISIS was not able to operate in Iraq or Syria under the control of Saddam or Bashar al Asad. Who helped disrupt these two countries? The United States. Wouldn't you say it is time to stop meddling in Middle Eastern affairs?

3. I know this next one from personal experience. Mishaps in war are inevitable. Innocent people will die and many of them on accident. However, the hate that is bred in the heart of a grieving family member who lost a loved one to a misguided bomb or who got ran over by a tank, or shot because he or she was mistaken for a "bad guy" only creates more "terrorists." Wouldn't you want revenge if a loved one was killed by a foreign military? Would that make you a terrorist?

4. Enough with the moral arguments. We CAN'T afford it! Not just the cost of waging a war, but all of the unintended costs: a need for an increased VA budget to treat all the veterans with PTSD and lost limbs that come back, getting new vehicles when they start blowing up our MRAPs and Hummers that aren't armored properly, paying damages to families who get their houses blown up accidentally, etc. Enough said.

The only way to "win" a war against an insurgency is to not have to adhere to the Laws of International Armed Conflict, which I don't think we are willing to do. So, if you really want to see ISIS destroyed, start your own volunteer force and go fight them yourself. But don't compel our government to prolong the futile, unsustainable, and failed "Global War on Terrorism." We need to refocus our political attention inward and fix our failing state.

Until next time, stay critical.

Semper Fi,
Chris Bentley