Or does anyone else see the amusing irony of radical Islamists having the same name as an ancient egyptian Goddess?
The ISIS extremists are horrible, repressive, violent and hateful people, representing all that is evil and vile when religion is hijacked by the misguided and those who seek to legitimize what is not legitimate, valid or justified.
THAT is not unique to the vicious sectarian oppression of Islam.
So, while deploring the violence and the horrors of ISIS, it seems worth noting that history repeats itself. And it does so most horrifically when we do not learn the lessons of history, not just names occurring in history, long past and/or recent.
The ISIS extremists are horrible, repressive, violent and hateful people, representing all that is evil and vile when religion is hijacked by the misguided and those who seek to legitimize what is not legitimate, valid or justified.
THAT is not unique to the vicious sectarian oppression of Islam.
So, while deploring the violence and the horrors of ISIS, it seems worth noting that history repeats itself. And it does so most horrifically when we do not learn the lessons of history, not just names occurring in history, long past and/or recent.
No. It wasn't lost on me.
ReplyDeleteWe must resist the temptation to give in to desperation and to give up all hope and declare that Bush and Cheney simply destroyed the earth. They did their damnedest. They messed things up almost beyond repair.
That's why the Obama presidency was so bold. He refused to say that it was all over, that the world was harmed beyond repair. He has been an optimistic leader. Like FDR or Churchill. He has done a good job of shoring up much of the damage and at least illuminating a path to recovery if not fully engaging with the existing power structure. We must support Hillary if she decides to take up the burden of command.
That said, the Middle East does seem to be almost irretrievably destroyed. Great Britain probably did a better job of it one hundred years ago. At least they had Lawrence of Arabia. I think one of the most foolish things that Obama ever did as a president was to appoint John Kerry as SOS to succeed Clinton. Kerry is the feckless wimp that delusional hawks like McCain would have us believe that Obama exemplifies. Here is why I think so. Because in the 2008 presidential debates, Bush screwed his nuts up nice and tight. At probably the most opportune, exact moment in the debate he asked Kerry point-blank if he truly believed that it was a mistake to invade Iraq. It was a reasonable question considering what had been discussed in our nation as well as under the moderator's watchful eye at the debate. Kerry screwed up his one chance at the presidency when he didn't have the strength to tell Bush to his face on national TV that "YES INDEED! IT WAS A HUGE MISTAKE TO INVADE IRAQ. WE ARE ONLY BEGINNING TO PAY THE PRICE IN LOST LIVES, TALENT AND TREASURE! AND THE PRICE THAT THE IRAQI PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY PAID AND WILL CONTINUE TO PAY FOR DECADES TO COME IS AT THIS POINT IN TIME INCALCULABLE!"
He would still be in office had he summoned the courage. What brought up this rant?
Today, I heard a reporter on KPBS reporting on the insurgence of ISIS in Mosul, Fallujah and who knows where??? She was interviewing one of the old colonels from Saddam's Republican Guard as if he was the voice of reason in this entire mess. He was assuring us all that things were under control and that ISIS was only a small fraction of the Sunni forces allied against Maliki.
I remember watching the bootleg video of the hanging of Saddam Hussein.