Posted on Feb 21, 2015
ISIL ‘a Very Complex Threat,’ Dempsey Says in Marshall Islands
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Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey made the comments in a town hall meeting here, in his first visit to this tiny atoll in the Pacific, the site of a World War II battle and the home of the U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll/Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site.
Following the town hall that featured about 200 attendees, Dempsey noted how crises in the Middle East continue to demand significant attention even as he travels to discuss U.S. security interests in the Pacific.
Read more:
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=128216
Following the town hall that featured about 200 attendees, Dempsey noted how crises in the Middle East continue to demand significant attention even as he travels to discuss U.S. security interests in the Pacific.
Read more:
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=128216
Army
ISIS
Terrorism
Posted 9 y ago
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I would say that's an understatement, SSG Norman Lihou, that ISIL is a very complex threat. We do think of them as brutal murderers, but they have something (their extremist Islamic ideology) that appeals in a big way to some younger Muslims.
Solving this complex problem will take more than just brute force. That much is clear. Kind of like thinking we were going to defeat guerillas in Vietnam with our superior firepower.
As General Dempsey says, "It's tough, and it's tough to figure out how to use the military in that environment."
I like that "we" are looking at these options, in addition to military force, because I think some of these alternative efforts can successfully address the ISIL threat: "Reconstruction, counter-messaging, stopping the flow of foreign fighters, and stopping terror financing ... are all needed to create conditions that will defeat the extremists."
Solving this complex problem will take more than just brute force. That much is clear. Kind of like thinking we were going to defeat guerillas in Vietnam with our superior firepower.
As General Dempsey says, "It's tough, and it's tough to figure out how to use the military in that environment."
I like that "we" are looking at these options, in addition to military force, because I think some of these alternative efforts can successfully address the ISIL threat: "Reconstruction, counter-messaging, stopping the flow of foreign fighters, and stopping terror financing ... are all needed to create conditions that will defeat the extremists."
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SSG Norman Lihou
You are right CW% Scott Montgomery, this has to be a multi pronged, multinational approach to this problem. This is not just a problem one nation faces but many. One of the biggest problem is the area in which this problem originates till lives primarily with a tribal mindset and a national identity is still very weak. These ethnic and religious breakdowns keeps the individual group priorities instead of the blended national identity which allows for compromise and working together. The current ideology plays on this victimhood or religious undertones to push a chosen or us against the world full of evil. very powerful stuff to try and counter but it will continue to grow without any pushback.
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