Ultimately, no matter what we do, we must strive to go into this conflict with ISIS with the primary principle of waging a just war first. It is easy to ignore the cardinal truth that all wars bring hurt to some and profits to some. It will be disastrous if along the way we made the same errors as in Libya, or as were made in the first and second Iraq wars. Where we bombarded anything and divided structures indiscriminately, which were in place to otherwise keep together divided halves. We must come out of this with the full positive recognition of the Iraqi and Syrian people; seeing us as just peacemakers not invaders. How can we succeed with such a method? By only taking reasonable sides and respecting the will of the Iraqi and Syrian people. As Cockburn expressed, we must remember, “A just war is hospitable to every self-deception on the part of those waging it, none more than the certainty of virtue, under whose shelter every abomination can be committed with a clear conscience".
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n fact, because ISIS is more like a band of cowboys with no real dominion of source, it is critical that we approached this brewing new conflict with caution. We must eventually drive ISIS into a corner, but which corner will it be? We must recognize that many will be right in the crossfire. Such as the Kurds, Yezidis, Shabaks, and many Sunni minority groups who are already persecuted by the central regime in Iraq. Our approach must consider the structures and cultures of these communities, and we must be prepared to take on drastic humanitarian efforts that in many ways guarantee that these societies are restored to normalcy after our operations. It will be a grave error to continue to support groups that only represent the intention of our political manifestos here at home. We cannot go there republican or democrat. We should see it as if the war was right here at home, threatening our children directly. We must engage and destroy ISIS nevertheless.
Edmond A. Arrey©