Chris Hayes Demonstrates Why We Can't Kill Our Way Out of Our War With ISIS

[polly7]

#t=47

The MSNBC host brings some refreshing sanity to the debate.

By Allegra Kirkland / AlterNet February 22, 2015

Last week, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf made what would seem on its surface to be a very uncontroversial statement. Speaking of our campaign against ISIS on MSNBC’s Hardball, Harf said, “We cannot kill our way out of this war.” She suggested we address the root causes of terrorist movements, like unstable governments, crippling poverty and lack of education—comments almost identical to those made by George W. Bush at the height of the Iraq War.

Yet to the pundits at Fox News, Harf’s comments were inflammatory. Chris Hayes gathered some of the most absurd responses in a segment on All In, including Sean Hannity’s sarcastic line: “Maybe we should give terrorists housing and get them Ferraris and Obamacare.”

But, as Hayes deftly demonstrates, military force has done nothing to stabilize the countries where we’ve waged war or to lessen the threat of terrorism in the Middle East. We’ve spent hundreds of billions on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and have killed hundreds of thousands of people, many of them civilians.

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/video-chris-hayes-demonstrates-why-we-cant-kill-our-way-out-our-war-isis


As Hayes put it, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over again and expecting a different result. So at what point do we say that what the U.S. has been doing for 14 years without cessation is not worth it?”

[Dustlawyer]

1. Sadly, war and killing seems to make the RW feel good. They don't care how much is spent

to kill, and don't care about collateral damage, to the citizens of these countries or our troops, who they ignore once home!

[swilton]

2. Education?

One of the elements (other than killing militants) mentioned by George W. Bush required to address the 'terrorists' is education.

But education works both ways -

Education that Amerika is no longer 'exceptional' and 'the indispensable state' would go a long way imho to stopping the violence.

[Scuba]

3. End of hostilities has never been the objective. The MIC makes money selling arms, not food.

[polly7]

4. Sadly, I agree. nt.

[Roy Rolling]

5. Ferraris?

If Ferrari had contributed $$$ to the GOP cult, conservatives would applaud buying Ferraris for terrorists.

[Cosmocat]

6. This is why I have given up hope

This, frankly, is common god darned sense.

Should not even be the least bit "controversial."

And, this whole thing of PBHO refusing to call it "islamic" terrorism should not be the least bit "controversial" either.

If that is what other people want to call it, so be it.

But, what needs to occur to most effectively deal with it is not in any way, shape or form benefits from calling it Islamic extremism or whatever from the head of state. You alienate moderates in the religion AND justify the jackasses who misusing the religion at the same time.

This is just pure common sense, but this is what the dickhead republicans scream, which then becomes what the "liberal media" babble about it.

This is stupid ass, BUT HE DOESN'T WEAR A FLAG PIN LABEL bullshit, which was bad enough for its rank stupidity in a campaign to elect our president, but given the importance of addressing this issue even worse.

[JayhawkSD]

7. How do aerial campaigns work out?

Well, our aerial campaign in Cambodia led to the killing fields of Pol Pot; and 1.5 million killed.

The aerial campaign in Libya resulted in chaos and an ungovernable state.

The aerial campaign against ISIS will be different, of course. It will do what no other aerial campaign has done, and will lead to a peaceful and stable Middle East. And there will be unicorns grazing on the banks of the Tigris and the Euphrates.

[adieu]

8. That was the conclusion in the movie, "Charlie Wilson's War"

After spending money for the war, the United States should have spent some money for the peace. They didn't and the result was exactly the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

[BlueMTexpat]

10. Yes, Reagan's foreign policy decisions

are another legacy with totally predictable consequences. The weapons and training we provided then ended up being used against us and our interests. That all worked out so well on 9-11, but many of us had predicted something like it when Reagan began arming religious zealots in the 80s. All such voices were either drowned out or given little credence.

Bush I's war with Iraq (which ultimately resulted in Kuwait's wholesale expulsion of Palestinians previously living there, many of whom had been born or lived there for decades, thus exacerbating the always sensitive I-P situation around the same time as huge numbers of Jewish refugees immigrated to Israel in the wake of the USSR breakup) and Bush II's disastrous wars then made a disastrous ME situation catastrophic, leaving Prez O with very little wiggle room, especially when he at the same time inherited a totally dysfunctional domestic economy with worldwide consequences.

Yet, the same insane debate continues for the ME and Ukraine, with the same neocon voices - on both sides of the aisle - leading the charge. More voices like Hayes are desperately needed.

[BlueMTexpat]

9. Such voices should be encouraged!

Good for Chris Hayes!

[mother earth]

11. War...What is it good for?....PROFITEERS....PROFITEERS....PROFITEERS...the MIC & neverending PROFIT.

TY, Polly7, K & R for educating people on the true purpose of war by bring ing this here.

(Edited to add, they let the banksters and corps. gut us financially, privatizing profit & socializing risk, and when that's done they scare us to death to squeeze out what's left and for future profits for their buddies in the MIC...
TY, Bush Family: GH running the CIA for the covert stuff, GW for the inside stuff, and JEB for what's to come....)