I spent much of the night of Nov. 13, watching as Paris came under attack by insane recruits of the Islamic State, better known as ISIS. According to French officials, so far 130 have been killed and 352 wounded in six separate attacks. Among the dead is 23-year-old college student Nohemi Gonzalez of California.
People were slaughtered as they walked the streets, were eating in restaurants and attending a concert by an American band, Eagles of Death Metal, at the Bataclan Theater. Members of the band escaped safely, but
nearly 100 theater-goers were left dead, including seven suspects (one a French national), as Paris police stormed the theater in an attempt to free all those being held hostage.
When the attacks started, French President Francois Hollande, was attending a World Cup soccer match between France and Germany in a stadium which was a target of one of the attacks. Hollande called the attacks an “act of war,” and said France would stage “merciless” war on ISIS. France attack ISIS in Syria on Nov.15.
ISIS continues to slaughter Muslims in the Middle East. On Nov. 12, 43 people were killed and more than 200 wounded in two separate suicide bombings in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, for which ISIS claimed responsibility. Investigators say they are 99.9 percent certain that it was a bomb which downed a Russian airliner over the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt on October 31,killing all 224 aboard. CNN reports an ISIS affiliate has claimed responsibility. And now, France.
ISIS has announced they will attack Russia soon. Most surely, the UK, Germany and other countries in Europe will soon be ISIS targets. Yes, it will happen here. It’s not a matter of if, but when. When it does, the president will be blamed.
Republicans have said Obama isn’t tough enough. They’ve said he’s weak. They’ve said they want him to be tough like Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Isn’t he the fellow who just recently asked for help from the FBI to investigate the bombing of his airliner? I suppose they will say Hollande was weak. It’s not a matter of toughness.
The Republicans, who blame President Obama for all that’s wrong in the world, need to shut up. The attack on France wasn’t Hollande’s fault. The bombing of the Russian airliner was not Putin’s fault, although he probably should have ordered his airlines not to fly over the Sinai. And it won’t be Obama’s fault, or whoever may be president, when ISIS attacks us.
The world must join together, tracked down ISIS followers, wherever they may be, and do away with them. That’s more extreme than I have ever been on the matter of ISIS, but they must be stopped. Insanity mustn’t rule the world.
What the heck do they want? Do they really think terrorists attacks will convince the entire world to become like them and adopt their way of life? I doubt that. I was talking to a Pakistani friend the other day and we agreed that it is poverty, not religion that drives many to join ISIS. It’s been reported that they can get $900 a month from ISIS but only $300 to join the Iraq army. Terrorism won’t wipe out poverty. Many of these barbarians are not religious at all, they’re just psychopaths.
About four million refugees, mostly families, have fled the violence in Syria and have overwhelmed other countries, including Greece and Turkey. Many have drowned trying to reach a safe haven. There are no jobs for them in the countries to which they are fleeing and those countries can not afford to care for them. It is a world wide nightmare of unbelievable proportions. We must help.
Some fear that some refugees are young ISIS terrorists. Screening of the refugees we take in can prevent this from happening here.
It’s war. America, Russia, France, the UK, Germany, and the rest of Europe, along with Egypt, Jordan, the Kurds and liberated Iraqis must put and end to ISIS. Every last one of these barbarians must pay the ultimate price. It won’t be easy as ISIS recruits can be found in every country, including ours.
There is more than enough of us, if we collaborate, to get the job done. Yes, it might take special forces on the ground, but if all nations join together, no one nation need shoulder the entire burden. We must put an end to the barbarism of al Qaeda, ISIS and all other terrorists groups. There is no place for them on this earth.
May God be with the people of France.
Glen McAdoo, a Fallon resident, can be contacted at glynn@phonewave.net.