What Manner Of Men

The world has always had its share of the criminally insane.  Many have escaped unscathed because they were rulers or part of the inner circles of such leaders.

Some, as with IS, couch their brutality in the shadow of their so called religion.  I haven't read the Koran so I cannot interpret it, but even those who have seem to be in disagreement as to exactly what it champions.

I have trouble believing the interpretation IS gives it could possibly be true.  If it is, theirs is the only Deity I know of that preaches hatred and cruelty over love and kindness. Actually, it doesn't really matter what it says in reality, but rather their interpretation that has become no more than a license to kill.

In my world those who are insane surface and commit horrendous crimes against their fellow man.  In my world they are usually lone wolves who have imagined grievances that compel them to strike out.  Most often they are captured and dealt with.  What I didn't realize is that in my world there reside scores of those looking for an opportunity but savvy enough to want to surround themselves with the like minded for protection and in some warped way, acceptance.

They watch well produced propaganda on social media and flock to the middle east to join their brothers.  It scares me that so many can be so horrifically cruel and celebrate it for the world to see.  Who knew they existed in such numbers?  If we knew we refused to see it because of it's horrific nature until their band grew in numbers where it had to be taken seriously.

Now they are running rampant throughout Iraq and Syria adding ground to their "caliphate" on a daily basis by executing anyone who stands in their way. I can't help but wonder if a great number of those men could care less about the religious aspect of their organization but have played the game in order to satisfy their blood lust by killing.  Just for the sake of killing.

There is also another manner of men I wonder about.  It's those who are in positions of leadership who could band together to annihilate this movement. Do they not think that the more successful IS is the more in danger of falling victim they become? Especially those who are neighbors in the vicinity.

Then there are those in the west who as of now have only been affected from a distance, not on their home ground, at least not to the scale we see playing out.  But again, the more ground IS gains the more their capabilities improve.

With that, why do we merely tinker around the edges?  Containing them, which we aren't yet doing well, will not stop them.  They must be eliminated in order to send the message that such behavior will not be tolerated in a civilized world.  It doesn't matter where they are.  It matters what they are. It doesn't matter, either, who stops them as long as they are stopped.  If it falls to us that let's do it.

For those with the ability to stop them who choose not to do so by trying to shift the responsibility are not facing reality.  I have to ask about them too, what manner of men are they? In many ways, no better.  Maybe even worse because they appear cowardly. Cowardly leadership does not win wars. They merely hide or quit.