Harding: it may be prudent for the United Nations Security Council to consider the adoption of a 'cordon and confinement' strategy to the overall situation.

I agree completely. The Boarders need to be sealed tight. Any person or Group who wants to get in should be allowed in, but NO ONE is allowed out for any reason what-so-ever.

Any person who leaves a Western Country to enter the sealed area for any reason MUST automatically lose their Citizenship & have their Passports cancelled. They MUST never be allowed to re-enter a Western Country for any reason what-so-ever.

Harding: ISIS has not conquered new land, but has merely gained control of affiliated tribal lands.

I have long held the view that the division of the Middle East after WW1 was a bad idea. That's why Laurence walked away. Maybe returning the lands based on Traditional Grounds (whatever that is) would be the way to go. Unfortunately this will have a domino effect. The Kurds traditional lands cover parts of, Iraq, Turkey, & Iran. I should imagine they would want to claim back their lands. Then, the Armenian question will arises again. Other Tribal through the area will also start to vie for a change of Boarder. What then?

Maybe, though I doubt it, the UN can do some good here by being the Moderator in helping to redraw the Boarders for the entire Middle East.

Harding: There would be the risk that the Muslim world would see the invasion as a new crusade. The ramifications of which would be extreme.

Agreed. The West, Russia & China should stay well out of the way until the situation sorts its self out.

Frankly, I think it is the best news we have heard from the Middle East
in years. While ever they are fighting resolutely among themselves
they will have less time to cause us trouble.

It will also weaken them and make them easier to handle when they next
show interest in stirring things up in the "west".
I think that a "Berlin Wall" around the Middle East is probably impractical.

In the old days the British would have sent in the gunboats, & all would be back quiet.

Today's equivalent would be nuclear armed cruise missiles. Just a few big bangs & quiet descends. You have to wonder why the west has spent all that money, if they won't use them.

Guess we are just not as smart,. or as tough as we once were, & ought to be now.

This Imam says some pretty interesting things about ISIL, Muslim-Christian relations and "fake" Muslims, I literally stumbled upon his Youtube channel last night and was captivated by his videos, it's a viewpoint I'd not heard before.

ISIS, Ukraine, Rum Situation - Sheikh Imran Nazar Hosein Interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZl0Xbm1Z-A

One of the most idiotic suggestions on OLO for some time.

Yes certainly there is a precedent for UN Baghdad involvement - in terms of the UN providing an excellent BOMBING target.

The Canal Hotel Bombing in Baghdad, Iraq - in the afternoon of August 19, 2003, killed at least 22 people, including the UNITED NATIONS' Special Representative in Iraq Sérgio Vieira de Mello, and wounded over 100.

The blast targeted the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq created just 5 days earlier. (The United Nations had used the hotel as its headquarters in Iraq since the early 1990s.)

The attack was followed by a second bombing a month later which resulted in the withdrawal of the 600 UN staff members in Iraq.[1] These events were to have a profound and lasting impact on the UN's security practices globally.