Tuesday, January 13, 2015

ISIS, Boko Haram and their like---what really gets me about them is------

Without a doubt 'most' people in the West and a good deal of the rest of the world have negative views about the two groups, ISIS and Boko Haram. There are other groups that follow similar pathways. We see from time to time, commentary that tries to explain or paint these groups as some sort of 'spawn' from the intervention of the USA, with the CIA, FBI and other organizations being blamed for the rise of the aforementioned groups. Western Colonization has also been blamed. OK, wherever the truth sits--let's leave that aside for the moment and examine the 'practice' or reaction of these groups. Leave aside the quasi-religious 'justification' for their actions and look at what is happening on the ground in the areas they operate. How can they say their cause is 'just' and that the kidnapping, murdering, enslaving and torture of those who happen to be in their way, or who do not follow the same 'faith' or version of that faith as they do, is justified? It seems to matter little whether their victims are young old, male, female--the result is the same. It has been said that they hope to divide a wedge between the nations who oppose them and that by creating such suffering, people will turn to them, out of desperation. Perhaps they have overestimated the efficacy of their policies and underestimated the anger and fear they sow as they go about their slaughter. Instead of 'driving' people to their cause they are more than likely bringing about an 'alliance of nations,' and people, many of whom have been opposed in the past----together. Russia, the EU, the USA and even China and India have been on the receiving end of the actions from these groups or their allies. Look back into the past and it is not hard to find 'temporary alliances,' formed out of necessity, in order to defeat a common foe. The reasons behind discontent in the regions where these groups have formed will be lost as the attention falls upon the barbaric acts of ISIS and Boko Haram. Whatever message they had that had any validity, would have been shot down by the very nature of the way they force that message. The sad fact remains, that the inequalities that breed extremism, will still be present, because the goal posts have changed and the same old forces who have controlled the wealth of regions and nation states, remain as they always have. The poor will remain so and dispossessed people will still have no place to call a nation state. There will be other ISIS and Boko Harams and they will continue to 'wax and wain' as history repeats.

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