Hear hear. The fear, but not the loathing, of ISIS is almost entirely unjustified.

Islam at its strongest was not able to beat Europe at its weakest, in the middle ages. Without abandoning their core tenets, they will remain with the philosophy of the illiterate robber rapist slaver paedophile murderer who inspires them, claiming God told them to do it as he did.

But the way people are going on about them, you'd think they were invading the West, rather than getting rid of a government imposed by the West after invading them on grounds - WMD - which were later shown to be lies. The western powers have killed far more Iraqis - and westerners for that matter - in Iraq than ISIS.

Yes the mass murders of Christians are dreadful - but have their precedent in early Islam surprise surprise.

However without troops on the ground, all talk of defeating ISIS militarily is pie-in-the-sky. Are we supposed to support another invasion, another occupation, and another puppet government?

Exactly Dave! Nailed it in one!
Rhrosty.

Dear Jardine,

But given the horrors that go on in northern Iraq, I do believe you would support individuals coming to the rescue, helping the Kurds with arms (bought with their own funds) and perhaps even fighting on their side. Am I wrong?

Alas, that money which could have been donated to that campaign was already taken in taxes and the Australian government would arrest anyone attempting to travel to the Middle-East in order to help the Kurds and Yazidis.

You do underestimate Islam, which formerly took most of Eastern Europe and parts of Spain and Southern France, then went as far as besieging Vienna. Mohammed was not illiterate either. In fact, the level of literacy, culture and science in the Ottoman empire was at the time much higher than in Christian Europe.

Father Dave again and how everything is the fault of the West. Conspiracies galore, but he still prefers to live here rather than in the Middle East where his heart lies. Sad.

"Mohammed was not illiterate either."

He was according to Edward Gibbon and all the other historical sources on him I have read, but maybe I was wrong. Why do you say so?

"But given the horrors that go on in northern Iraq, I do believe you would support individuals coming to the rescue, helping the Kurds with arms (bought with their own funds) and perhaps even fighting on their side. Am I wrong?"

You are right, I would support that. I think if states kept out of it, and only those personally interested in fighting or donating on either side participated
a) the problem probably wouldn't have started in the first place
b) it wouldn't have got this bad, and
c) it would be lesser and preferable.

But 'once the toothpaste is out of the tube, it's hard to get it back in again'

A well reasoned article, but we in Australia have little to fear from terrorist activities - we've all got our fridge magnets!