Why Isn’t The West Fighting ISIS?

Fighters of Badr Brigades Shiite militia chant slogans against the Islamic State group at the front line, on the outskirts of Fallujah, Anbar province, Iraq, June 1
HADI MIZBAN / AP PHOTO

I woke up one recent morning with a nagging question banging around in my head.

Why isn’t the civilized world treating that murderous Islamic State in Iraq and Syria like a rebirth of Hitler’s murderous Nazis and joining hands to quickly put it out of business?

It’s not some oppressed national group trying to get a share of power, as was the case with North Vietnam communists, Somali insurgents or pro-Russia easterners of Ukraine. But in those last three cases we paid more resistance attention than we do to the religious intolerant and racial-intolerant band of Islamic State thugs who cut off heads and otherwise execute those not of their brand of faith.

Where are the armies of “the greatest generation” saying you can’t do that?

Islamic State is an uncivilized organization, period. There’s no middle or arguable ground about that.

It claims religious, political and military authority over all Muslims worldwide and that the legality of all existing emirates, groups and states is dead on arrival of its troops in their areas.

Those deemed to be non-Sunni or opposed to the authoritarian incursion are also considered to be dead on arrival. The executions begin.

What had started as a resistance to U.S. forces in Anbar Province of Sunni Iraq during that war and then as resistance to the Assad government in Syria morphed into what an expert on Islamic State says is “focus on establishing its rule on conquered territory and is ruthless in building an Islamic state, carrying out sectarian attacks and imposing sharia law immediately.”

Not unlike those World War II German armies that marched into Poland and France, imposed new governance, and
proceeded to imprison and kill off Jewish and resistance populations.

And unlike the caliphates of old, this one takes all its guidance from one man — one Hitler if you will — who gives the marching orders: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

In the true caliphate of old, there was a plethora of voices. Leaders elected. All given fair opportunity to voice their opinions. The voice of the majority accepted, provided it did not violate the teachings of the Koran.

And according to the preeminent scholar of Islamic history, Qamarrudin Khan, the term Islamic State was never used in the practice of Muslim political science before the 20th century.

Many Muslim countries do incorporate Islamic law in their legal systems. Some declare Islam to be their state religion, but do not apply Islamic law in their courts. An exception is Brunei, which in two years will phase out all British-style civil law and replace it with Islamic sharia courts.

But all that is peaceful and by consent of the governed.

Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) needs no consent. It executes dissenters and people of other faiths without hesitation.
It is Hitler and Stalin and Mao.

Yet the civilized world only “aids” those who are opposing it. No move to obliterate it as a plague. Why is that?