Tony Blair on Islamic State: 'Don't rule out ground troops'

[Matej]

I agree with him. Airstrikes are not enough to beat IS.

These days we see significant shift in the Obama's policy, it's clear what will(have to) follow.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/09/23/why-airstrikes-in-syria-are-just-the-beginning/

Saddam Hussein was a tyrant, but he performed the useful function of suppressing religious fanaticism. Bush and Blair failed to appreciate this so didn't have a correct exit strategy, without one intervention was a mistake. Now we have let the evil of Jihad out of its box, we will have to fight it wherever it appears. A few air strikes won't stop ethnic cleansing or genocide. Non intervention would simply compound the mistake of the original intervention.

You're right. Bombs will not do, but it's first step. Absolutely essential step, and then and only then we can(must) try to stabilize region,

law enforcement, suppress violence, advancing stability ...

Saddam Hussein was a tyrant, but he performed the useful function of suppressing religious fanaticism.

Remember! Pragmatism in foreign policy will sooner or later turns against you and at the end you will face much bigger problem than you had before. Leave Pragmatism for Russia and China.

Also there are some western values ...

I don't think that George W. Bush, Tony Blair and Colin Powell deceived/lied about Iraq ... what doesn't mean they were right.

The West was pretty naive back then ... we were all thinking we can turn Iraq and Afghanistan into democratic state by only democratic election.

Today everyone knows it was/is an illusion.

In countries were 90% people think that humans are not equal before the law and God ...

I think it's not possible to install democratic government at all, short-term, medium-term, but we can't watching islamists cutting heads off and ignore the biggest hatchery of terrorism in the world.

Edited September 25, 2014 by Matej

[Scott]

An off-topic post has been deleted. The topic is "Tony Blair on Islamic State...."