UPDATE Feb 18, 2015: It was brought to my attention that I did not mention Syria, Russia or China in aiding in this cause. I did not, it was intentional.
ISIS
We have arrived at a point in time that it is far overdue for countries around the world to literally join together to stop a scourge, no, a metastasizing cancer from continuing to spread.
Detection
Countries in the mid-East, northern Africa, Europe and North America have to unite in figuring out a way to detect radicalization of the:
- Young and old,
- Poor and middle-class,
- Disenfranchised,
- Outcasts and
- Religious fanatics (or so-called religious fanatics)
Countries of this grand coalition will have to do a better job of data-mining to find these newly radicalized, or becoming so. However, that data-mining will have to be done without trampling on the privacy rights of the ordinary and innocent citizens of those countries infected with these malicious and dangerous malcontents.
On the other hand, ordinary citizens, no matter what religious or non-religious background they hale from, now have an extraordinary duty of reporting valid suspicions to the authorities. Of course, we will need some kind of international database for that purpose.
There are multiple sources of information out there where one can find or come across individuals becoming radicalized or are fully radicalized who harbor anger and hatred vile enough toward ‘non-believers.’ These ISIS wannabe’s will harm or kill anyone who stands against ISIS or just because they are Jewish or because they draw cartoons of the Muslim Muhammid (or Mohammed or Muhammed). There is no right granted anywhere in the world to anyone where they can kill another over a cartoon, even if that cartoon is offensive – no matter what religion or faith.
Yes, it may be stupid or drawn out of poor taste – but NO ONE has a right to kill another over a cartoon.
There are too many individuals coming out of the woodworks who purport to want to be part of this ISIS movement because of the religious faith that is offered. The brainwashing effects of the glitzy web ads and tweets and online conversations are irresistibly drawing in those of a weaker caliber mental state. And it is those of a weaker mind-set that is the problem, they want to be part of a movement where they ‘think’ they belong and are welcomed…
Prevention
Besides detecting those becoming, or are, radicalized we must prevent and stop them from joining up with ISIS. We cannot just put them in jail, we have to find a way to de-program them away from ISIS and back into society. We have to find a way to show these individuals that they are welcome in society.
By the same token, these individuals have to learn to accept that just because they have joined the Muslim faith or have taken their Muslim faith to another country – they have to act according to the laws of whatever country they are in. These radical Muslim’s have to understand that they cannot force their religion on others of a different faith, of the western world where free will is the norm – not anything related to Sharia or Sharia law.
People have free will to do what they want, with the exception of physically harming others. Women actually can walk around scantily clad in public or work for a living or drive themselves whenever they wish, all without any male Muslim (or any religion) dictating what women can and should be doing. This is not the dark ages where it was ignorantly believed that men had the sole right to dictate the daily life of women, boys and girls.
Women are not chattel.
Information
All of the countries mentioned above must do a better job of sharing information, even if it means a massive database where ordinary citizens can report information of ‘valid’ suspicions, facts or incidents of wannabe malcontents or actual members of ISIS.
We, the people of the world and law enforcement and military entities, are going to look longer and harder and deeper into all the social media (social networking sites, aka SNS) out there. More than we are currently doing now. We must have a synergistic effort (data collection, intelligence and combat strikes – sorry, cannot go into any real discussion on any kind of intelligence efforts (other than publically open source) and military matters at this time) to massively multiple the efforts to corral and stamp out ISIS
We are going to have to undertake deep data-mining of the open ‘Net and as much of the dark web as possible to ensure we locate as many as possible of these wannabes while they are in the early stages of pre-radicalization and after they become radicalized. We need to detect, prevent and stop them wherever we can.
If ISIS is using social media to their advantage, we need to do a better job than what the U.S. State Department is currently doing.
We have to stop this scourge and being nice is not going to work all by itself. Not when these ISIS members want to kill those people of the world who want to live in peace.
This collaboration has to be an operation on the scale of the allies joining forces in WWII to stop the spread of Nazism, or even as was done with Desert Storm. We must do this now, with an overwhelming amount of information to finding all these criminalist thugs, before ISIS continues to grow ever larger. The longer we wait, the worse it is going to be and more expensive in terms of lives lost and/or ruined. This effort to clamp down on ISIS and the cowardly carnage they are conducting cannot be based on what it might cost us financially.
We have to stop these, well, crazies now because it will cost more due to uncertainty and fear (loss of business – i.e. tourism).
Endgame
We have to join together as a global group and stop the growth and spread of this cancer that is indiscriminately killing people who do not convert to their brand of religion. We have to stop these twisted individuals from taking women and girls and doing whatever they wish to them.
Bombing these thugs is not the sole solution; it is going to take troops on the ground to stop them. And it is going to have to be troops primarily from the mid-East and Africa leading the way with other countries of the coalition backing them up.
The amount of open-source intelligence will have to be ramped up – in collection and analysis. There will have to be much better data correlation in ‘connecting the dots.’ The more data we can glean on malcontents and radicals, the better. The more sources of information, hint – citizens of the world, the better.
If we are to retain a free way of life, we are all in this together. If we want a way of life where you can practice any religion you choose (or no religion at all) without harming others; or have a way of life where women are not treated as second-class people, or worse; or be a Jew free of any kind of persecution, we must join together in overwhelming willingness and support to stop ISIS.
We may need to put up even more cameras in the public spaces to find these malcontents or be able to put together a picture that tells the story, after a horrific event… We may need facial recognition software, in many, many cities around the globe for this purpose. It may be regrettable but it may have to be done out of need…
No one wants to have to fight another conflict of any kind because we will suffer human losses, again, as we fight. But in this case, we may need to bring an army of the world to stop this group calling itself ISIS. This army of the world should be made up of the diplomatic corps, of other religious leaders who have a strong voice, of law enforcement, the military and most of all, let me repeat that, most of all – you, the citizens of the world helping to staunch this maniacal spread of something purporting to be of the Muslim faith. We will need to keep an eye out for malcontents in the regions in and surrounding Malaysia, the Philippines and Australia too…
Most of all, this is not going to be any kind of quick ending to ISIS. It is going to take a couple of years and that is a generous couple of years.
Lastly, we do not need celebrities or high powered corporate executives or some 4-star general / admiral or a group of billionaires running point on this – we primarily need YOU, the citizens of the world to be the point man/woman on this effort. We need YOU to use your voice, the power of your thinking and the power of your heart for what is right to step up and denounce this brutal, dishonest and completely misguided group of individuals who call themselves ISIS (or ISIL or IS).
We need you and your peers wherever you are to stand up and make your voices heard to your government, so they actually make a concerted effort to stop and excise ISIS.