An extraordinary person sums up America’s peril in the Middle East. The greatest threat to U.S. security are we as a nation over-extending our influence and our intervention in regional conflicts.
○ Former Sen. George Mitchell on ISIS Threat
- “… And fourth and finally, I think we have to remember that the United States was a great nation long before it became a military and economic power. What appealed to people all around the world, and what still appeals to people all around the world is OUR IDEALS. The principles that are set forth in our Constitution and our Declaration of Independence. We have to remain true to them.”
How we got here | Part 1
By George J. Mitchell | The Boston Globe | Sept. 7, 2014 |The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians continues against a backdrop of resurgent violence elsewhere in the Middle East. Americans reacted with anger and horror to the recent grisly spectacle of the beheadings of two American journalists by the Islamic State, the Sunni extremist group that seeks to establish an Islamic caliphate in Syria and Iraq.
There also was confusion. ISIS got its start in opposition to the Syrian government of Bashar Assad, a government that the United States also opposes.
In trying to comprehend an area where rulers and boundaries for a long time came from elsewhere — and where religious, tribal, and family loyalties often trump national identity — confusion and anger are understandable.
Weary after more than a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, many Americans want to turn away from what seems to be an intractable and unsolvable mess. Others want to do just the opposite — to unleash more American military power in an effort to quell the seeming chaos.
Conflicts in the Middle East are many and overlapping: Arabs and Jews; Israelis and Palestinians; Persians and Arabs; Sunni and Shiite Muslims; fundamentalists and moderates; Sunni-led governments and Sunni opposition groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood. In this highly complex and volatile region, what should the United States do? What can we do?
“You cannot kill an idea with a gun, you can
only stop them if you have a better idea.
And we have a better idea … You must teach
people that law is always better than war.”
– Benjamin Ferencz
