Whistling In The Dark

Can you hear it? As  soon as the sun goes down the high mucky-mucks of the world, you know, the people that are supposed to see to our safety, start whistling. Every night the sound gets louder. The current political philosophy is that it is better to whistle in the dark than face reality.

I read where some governmental genius opined that the moderate Muslims of the world would, ultimately take down ISIS. Really? I'll let you in on a little secret that our rulers don't want you to hear. While there may be some secular Muslims (yes, that is a contradiction in terms) that would like to see ISIS destroyed, most "moderate" Muslims secretly root for ISIS and smile at every victory.

Meanwhile; We are not at war. Whistle, whistle, whistle.
                       ISIS is not Muslim. Whistle, whistle, whistle.
                      No boots on the ground. Whistle, whistle, whistle.
                      We can negotiate peace in the Middle East. Whistle, whistle, whistle.
                      Islam is a religion of peace. Whistle, whistle, whistle.

The fact is, we are in a war. They try to convince us that ISIS is no more than a group of rabble. They, either lie, or are disillusioned. ISIS actually holds about 35,000 square miles of territory. About the size of Jordan. Latest estimates by the CIA put their army at 20,000 to 31,500 troops. These are trained, war hardened, fighters.

Young Muslim men, and even some women, are traveling right now, to Iraq, to fight for the Caliphate. ISIS has the cash to support as many troops as they can muster and train. Besides what money they steal when they take over a city, they have oil wells, and the financial support from Muslim countries that purport to be our friends. While they call us habibi, friend, they pay for the swords that draw Christian blood. 

ISIS also has those good American tanks that were given to the Iraqi army and abandoned to ISIS in Iraq's cowardly retreat. They also have RPGs, Stingers, modern rifles, and armored troop carriers compliments of the United States.

In other words, we have to stop whistling in the dark and take them seriously. It will take more than five sorties a day to put them down. And they must be put down. The administration claims a coalition of forty countries. I do not believe that. They may have a cheering section that is forty countries strong. But how many of those will take part in ground fighting when the American chant from Washington is "No boots on the ground".

I fear the prospect of a Viet Nam redux. An underestimation of a determined enemy and a war controlled by politicians in denial rather than war fighters. When leaders see the world as they wish it to be rather than seeing the realities of life, they are no longer leaders.