Dear ConservativeHippie,

What will our involvement solve?

Do you really believe that by getting involved
we shall get rid of ISIS? We achieved nothing
during our last involvement - we didn't get rid
of al-qaeda - ISIS replaced it. And our involvement
will only harden their resolve. The alternative
to this situation seems to be - leave them to sort
out their own problems. We have no right to be there.
And losing the young lives of our soldiers - for what?

cont'd ...

Andrew J. Bacevich wrote an interesting article
in The Spectator, 16 August 2014:

"What is America's strategic objective?
The answer is there is none. For the US military
action has become a substitute for strategy, indeed
for acknowledging the fact that nearly a quarter of
military involvement in Iraq amd in the Middle East
more generally has produced next to nothing of value."

"Only the naive, the obtuse or the dishonest will
believe (or profess to believe) that trying harder
has the slightest chance of producing a different and
more favourable outcome."

"The US and its European allies do not possess the wit
nor the will nor the might to fix whatever it is that
ails much of the Islamic world... The beginning of
wisdom lies in recognising that fact."

Foxy, doing nothing is not an option.

ISIS is a brutal terrorist group that is powerful enough to fend off the Iraqi Army. We cannot afford to let ISIS succeed unless we are willing to accept the slaughter 1000's and 1000's of the ethnic people's ISIS deems infidels. We were appalled by Saddam Hussain gassing some of the same ethnic groups; how is this different.

ISIS not going to stop at the Iraqi border. If successful within Iraq they will eventually set their sights on the soft target neighbours and onto Israel. ISIS has to be destroyed and whatever replaces them may or may not be as bad. Hopefully at some point in time a strong Islamic group will emerge and display the compassion the moderate Muslims tell us is at the core of Islam.

That is low level, isolationist, 'dog in the manger' thinking, Foxy.

It doesn't take a large force or international cooperation to deal with ISIS. However the international cooperation also recognises the common threat of terrorism world-wide, and there are many separate terrorist outfits of concern.

Forty countries cooperating is a big advance, but what if this exercise could lead to double that number and more working together in the near future?

Of course Australia wants to be part of it. It is quite obvious even from the number of terrorists who will return to Oz, that we will need friends and their cooperation to protect ourselves.

As well, as a good citizen of the world we should be pitching in to help and be seen to be making some worthwhile contribution at that.

Foxy,

".... we didn't get rid
of al-qaeda - ...."

I do believe al-qaeda wasn't a force in Iraq until the destabilisation in the wake of the invasion.

Non-stop civilian bombings have been the almost daily fare of Iraqis ever since.

Can someone tell me if the West was supporting ISIS against the Syrian regime - until they decided to spread their activities into Iraq?

If they are a threat to our people - and I for one agree they are - why have successive governments been importing them without a close look at the religion that is imported with them and propagated from parents to sons? Their murder rampage in the Middle East is in accord with clearly expressed Koranic values and instructions to all Moslems - brushing aside the "taqiyya" sugar coating - to behead the unbelievers who impede the spread of Islam.

The cult that motivates the murderers is a clear and present threat to freedom in Australia as they are intimately linked to the Moslem bridgehead that governments have been importing, whether they are allowed to return or not.

Sending Australian service personnel to be betrayed and killed is not the way. Islam is a global ideological offensive against the most basic human rights and has been ever since its paedophile "prophet" dreamed it up. Without a determined global cradle to the grave ideological counter-offensive in support of the open society and against its enemies the advance of the Age of Reason will falter and crumble, and liberty with it.

First question to every applicant to enter Australia: “Will you uphold the right of every person to reject, disobey or abandon your religion without penalty?” And hold them for life to their answer.