The New Orleans New Year's Day terror attack reminded America that ISIL (or ISIS, or simply the Islamic State as it once existed before Iraq War 2.0 defeated it) is still out their organizing and inspiring mass murder. When only one side "ends" a war, the other side gets a free shot to kill in a war that never really ended.
Killers gotta kill: "The
jihadist worldview exemplified by ISIS has not been vanquished. On the
contrary: It is resurgent."
We fled Afghanistan, think about doing that
(again) in Iraq, and otherwise do not seem to prioritize mowing the jihadi grass until the Islamic world resolves its jihadi problem. That initial author rightly concludes:
I am not arguing that we re-invade Afghanistan tomorrow. Nor am I saying that a more assertive U.S. foreign policy would end every threat to the homeland. My argument is that the way to reduce the ISIS threat, foreign and domestic, is to take the fight to the evildoers. Don't pretend jihadists can be left to their own devices. Put them on the defensive. Thin out their ranks, dry up their finances, keep them on the run. Then ISIS's ability to inspire will wane. And justice will be done for the people of New Orleans.
And the jihadis of course have opportunities in Syria:
The United States does not need to engage in nation-building but must continue its support for the Syrian Democratic Forces. This support is essential to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State group and to monitor the HTS-led government, discouraging it from developing into an extremist regime akin to the Taliban.
I have low confidence that "tame" HTS jihadis are an actual thing who can restrict the glorious caliphate to a national border, even if HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa is sincere in his claims he is one:
Despite his successful charm offensive in recent weeks, the question remains whether Sharaa will construct a moderate Islamist regime that acts as a responsible state actor or an extremist regime that terrorizes the ethnic and religious minorities in Syria and provides support to the global jihadist cause.We can't count on a kinder and gentler Jihad 2.0 any more than Taliban 2.0 was a thing. Fight back against jihadis with LeadOps, I say.
NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.
NOTE: I'm adding updates on the Last Hamas War in this post.
NOTE: You may also like to read my posts on Substack, at The Dignified Rant: Evolved. Go ahead and subscribe to it.
