GOP Insanity: Yet Another Spasm of Irrationality

The deeply weird collection of hotheads running for the Republican presidential nomination has looked at the massacre in San Bernardino and gone batshit crazy.

Christie: “Our nation is under siege. I believe we’re facing is the next world war. This is what we’re in right now, already.”

Cruz: “This nation needs a wartime president. Whether or not the current administration realizes it, or is willing to acknowledge it, our enemies are at war with us.”

Bush: “Islamic terrorism that wants to destroy our way of life, wants to attack our freedom. They have declared war on us. And we need to declare war on them.”

Graham (without actually using the word “war”): “I think they’re already here. I think there are organized cells here in America, and the sooner we disrupt their headquarters in Iraq, the less effective they’ll be.”

Rubio: “The West is waging war against radical apocalyptic Islam.”

Pataki (realizing he’s been too reasonable): “We must declare war on radical Islam. I’m not edging toward violent speech, I’m declaring we kill them.”

To call this kind of rhetoric “dangerous” is to treat it too kindly. It is, first and foremost, total bullcrap. We’re not at war with ISIS or with Islam. We’re not being invaded and this last event was not, as Kasich claimed “worse than 9/11.”

The current situation is new and different. Shoot-from-the-hip crap borrowed from childish notions about the tough guy smacking the bad guy around the schoolyard is as dated as a John Wayne western.

The tough talk is designed to inflame passions, instill fear and boost the candidate’s street-fighter cred. But it makes no sense. It’s insane, crazy talk and if any of these morons actually wins the presidency and engages this kind of military action we’re going to be a mess so horrific it will make Vietnam and Bush’s Iraq look like a picnic at the seashore.

Nations go to war with nations. There is no “Islamic State.” It is a collection of fanatics who move about, hide within local populations and cities. They are elusive and secretive. Tough talk about “killing ‘m all” is stupid. It makes as much sense from a military point of view as it did when it was tried in Vietnam. We got stuck in a quagmire in Southeast Asia and the GOP candidates are just dying to get us into a quicksand pit in the Middle East.

The current mess requires careful thought, effective diplomacy and the forming of broad-based coalitions. An appropriate start is the recognition that ISIS is Sunni as is Syria. Iran is Shite. Various other sects of Islam dominate in neighboring countries.

Then appreciate that ISIS has killed far more Shia than Westerners or Christians.

Then acknowledge that each act of terrorism committed by ISIS has two aims. The first is, of course, to instill a sense of fear and terror in the target population. The second is to inflame the passions and angers of Westerners, especially in the US.

Every time an American politician makes another sword-rattling speech ISIS celebrates. Each call for war is an invitation for disaffected young men to sign on. The GOP candidates need to stop the irresponsible “war” crap, turn on their brains for a change and stop handing ISIS exactly what it wants.