.MASSHOLE.
Active member
13820164:Dustin. said:True, and though this is infinitely complex, it's always going to be hard to discuss the merits of either integration or extermination while attacks like this continue and while the coalition remains engaged in war in the Levant. As long as the Middle East remains so divided, I think it will continue. You can't have Jordan defending it's borders with what it has while the rich Saudis right next door just build a wall and enjoy their money/protect their rich extremists.
On a positive note, ISIL is getting crushed in this war. Since it's 99% an air campaign, it takes a long time and a lot of money. But in the last year alone they've lost thousands of square miles of terrain and several Iraqi and Syrian cities have been liberated.
Musing now....I think it will get more interesting as solar powered products become cheaper (to pick one example). We could hit a tipping point in a decade where solar/electric become more reasonable investments for the residential consumer, and when that happens demand for oil could plummet very quickly. I've watched ISIL dig wells in the Syrian desert every day for months, and I've lived in nations who bathe in their oil money with the luxury to not GAF about the turmoil around them. I wonder how things will change if the money tree begins to die there and they are forced to globalize, and I wonder if this will help stifle the easy cash flow for extremists who have easy access to these sources.
Lots of thoughts to spur some conversation, I realize many of them are only slightly related. The unfortunate reality is that this attack in the UK by a Muslim extremists has inevitably sparked discussion on the obvious source of this mentality. It's more and more prevalent, and it kills me that this is the world we live in.
Wow, skiing is cool...
The issue lies within the religion and region itself. So long as there is the Sunni-Shia divide, Wahhabist vs. everyone else, etc. the Middle East won't see peace IMO.
While ISIS has lost territory, it won't stop their ideas from spreading. Sure, the Caliphate may die and thats a huge symbolic victory, but that may actually make it harder to track their movements. We always knew Al-Qaeda had HQs in Afghanistan/Pakistan, ISIS in the Levante, but now that they've lost that it will be that much harder to track and find them.
Instead, they'll turn to their online presence which is MUCH harder to destroy. We've seen how far it can reach, no one can avoid it. Indonesia this past week saw an attack perpetrated by ISIS supporters that, more likely than not, came into contact with ISIS members through the web.
I do think the movement away from OPEC-oil will be a catalyst for the region. You may see the Gulf States like UAE, Saudi Arabia, etc. collapse given that they can no longer support their people. If Saudi Arabia collapses, what happens to Wahhabism will dictate the future of Islamist extremism.