Sunday, September 14, 2014

What's the Solution for ISIS

We know what doesn't work as we've been watching it for ten years.

If I'm driving this train, I would impose a quarantine, a total embargo on the area.  Nothing goes in and nothing goes out, particularly no weapons go into the area.  So ISIS stole some jets.  Who will fly them.  Where will they get parts when they break ... and they always break.  Lotho worked on them and knows better than anyone the maintenance requirements.

Sanctions are just girl fighting for the media.  If you're going to really go for the quarantine, I mean a full blockade.

Sorry but the Internet connectivity to the entire Middle East is down ... and will remain so for the duration.  If the Saudis can't reach their banks, maybe they shouldn't have been so free with their weapons.  They are one of the biggest arms purchasers around.

If anyone violates the quarantine and sends weapons into the area, they join the quarantine.  That gets a bit difficult to manage if Russia or China were to do it but, for this specific example, it's not likely as just about everyone hates ISIS.

Where Europe eats it is Saudi Arabia is part of it and they will be out of fuel and walking in fairly short order.  Hopefully an opportunistic Russia rises to fill that need and Saudi Arabia ends up cut out of the mix altogether.  Unknown if there's the faintest chance supplies could permit that but it would be such a tragedy if it worked, wouldn't it.

And one thing you damn sure do not let through the quarantine is reporters.  If ISIS wants to broadcast, they can do it themselves ... but probably not for long as who do they have to keep the systems running.

There are all kinds of ways this would not work but one thing I know for sure won't work is bombing the fuck out of Iraq again.  We have seen this before.  It doesn't do anything except piss them off and now it's worse than it ever was.

So, that's my position:  blockade.

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