tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2499771266402854669.post2364771294191566367..comments2024-02-08T01:44:24.272-05:00Comments on ModeratePoli: The crazy debate about which Americans caused the rise of ISISModeratePolihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01721945380057992971noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2499771266402854669.post-34247412059761816682015-06-01T21:41:30.407-04:002015-06-01T21:41:30.407-04:00@dangerous, I hope you're right that most Amer...@dangerous, I hope you're right that most Americans aren't playing the blame game because the problem is confined to the messy Middle East. <br /><br />If I understand history, the Sunnis have been the more murderous and oppressive, and the Shia have mostly been the targets. Of course, I might not be going far enough back. Perhaps there was a huge slaughter of Sunnis by Shia a thousand years ago that is not forgiven. I was thinking that it's a good thing that Europeans aren't butchering each other like that anymore, and then I remembered that it's only 70 years since they were doing it bigtime. That diminishes my sense of superiority. <br /><br />ModeratePolihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01721945380057992971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2499771266402854669.post-27787987638191658362015-06-01T10:55:15.366-04:002015-06-01T10:55:15.366-04:00It's pretty clear that the GOP wants to push t...It's pretty clear that the GOP wants to push the narrative of Obama being responsible for ISIS because it falls right into their sweet spot: take a complex situation that isn't so bad (for us) and blame your opponent for it. Since you can say just about anything about it and have it be partially or spinnably true, you get media truth on your side, and the semi-intelligent talking heads giving you cover, even if their cause/effect is shaking.<br /><br />The Dems have a solid media truth at their disposal, too, and one that will probably insulate them from most public opinion: it's Bush's fault for destabilizing Iraq. That defense has the advantage of being more true than what the GOP charges Obama. The GOP knows this but hopes that since Bush is gone and Obama is there, he'll end up with more blame in the long run.<br /><br />But that doesn't matter unless ISIS actually hits the US, and not just a random citizen or soldier or journalist over there. There's simply not enough blame to assign so it's a non-issue. <br /><br />If they wanted to, the Dems could effectively charge with GOP with <i>encouraging</i> so they can reap the political rewards for a higher level of chaos. The Dems (unfortunately) don't seem to have the kind of blood-lust, since the GOP could sure use a dose of comeuppance for this kind of political tactic.<br /><br />The truth is that Sunni and Shia have been killing each other for centuries, care a lot more about that conflict than they do about the US, and only use the US as a rhetorical and occasional violent target to support their political position among their followers. So there's a mirror image of the GOP and ISIS more than the Dems and ISIS in messaging. GOP: "If the US were stronger, we could defeat ISIS and rule the world." ISIS: "If we were stronger, we could even defeat the US, so the Shia would be no problem."<br /><br />I could continue with this messaging back-and-forth to its conclusion, but I think you get the idea. For most people in the US, until they actually experience ISIS as a threat, there's no urgency to demanding action. In the Middle East, while ISIS is busy fighting the enemy in front of them, their rhetorical attacks on the US is just a distraction (and our bombing an annoyance) and their hatred of Shia is a bigger motivation. <br /><br />I think you can guess what hatred motivates the GOP -- and it's not ISIS. They care much more about the enemy in front of them, too.Dangerousnoreply@blogger.com