Soap Box

I have heard differing opinions about how ISIS or ISIL or whatever you choose to call the horde of barbarians murdering, raping and pillaging their way through Iraq and Syria came into being and I'm sure the finger pointing will go on for some time to come.

That fact is that it�s no longer the most important fraction in the equation, what's done is done and the time to be pragmatic about the situation is upon us and needs to be dealt with post haste and with deadly force as they represent an almost certain threat to the homeland and our allies.

There is no room for negotiation here, no peace treaties, no shuttle diplomacy, no back channel approaches. This evil entity has to be ripped out by the roots, totally destroyed down to the last man, no quarter asked or given like eradicating a deadly disease, every germ has to be destroyed or it will live to reproduce and kill again.

Not since the days of Genghis Khan and his Mongol hordes has this caliber of brutality and evil been seen and nothing less than total annihilation will rid the world of it.

President Obama - in my humble opinion - is being outrageously naive when he says that there will be no American troops involved in this operation.

The sad truth is that nobody else is up to the task.

Nobody wants it, but being truthful, it is fairly evident that an undertaking of this magnitude cannot be successful without American involvement and I believe that Obama will eventually renege and admit it.

Certainly not the Iraqi army who have already dropped their guns and ran one time, leaving behind sophisticated weapons of war to add to the already formidable arsenal ISIS has at its disposal.

To start this operation with less than capable troops and lose the first important battles will do more for ISIS' recruiting efforts than anything we could do because regardless of who is actually pulling the trigger or who our proxy turns out to be, it will be viewed by the Islamic radicals as a victory against the �Great Satan� and early losses would exponentially swell their ranks with hotheads from around the world.

The blow against ISIS should be swift, relentless and on every front, from the air, on the ground, in cyber space and tipping our hand and exposing our timetable and tactics makes the operation more dangerous and difficult.

It only serves to let the enemy know when to go amongst the innocents where air attacks cannot be used without catastrophic collateral damage, they will have to be dug out of their hiding places, given no place to run or hide, supply lines cut, finances interrupted, their oil fields stopped from producing, even if it takes destroying the infrastructure to accomplish it.

This cancer is mutating and every day we delay dealing with it they grow more deadly, more cunning and more able, not just a rag tag gaggle of fanatics running around the desert with World War Two weapons taking pot shots at moving targets, but an army who pays their soldiers, is well financed and well armed and has achieved a level of sophistication in tactics and communication heretofore missing from the enemies we've faced.

Mr. President, I sincerely hope you will swallow your partisanship and pride and seek the help, and heed the advice of the professionals who know how to wage this kind of war, because it is not a venture for amateurs who are surrounded by more amateurs.

This is a special military operation. It has nothing to do with elections and political parties, TV news bites and appealing to one's base.

This is not a game; it is a deadly undertaking involving the risk of becoming very unpopular with the Hollywood bunch and the far left wing of your party. This is a fight for the security of the United States of America, our very survival.

There is nothing cosmetic or superficial here, this is no place for the faint hearted or anyone without the degree of patriotism and courage that makes them willing to lay it all on the line.

Do you really want to leave a positive and lasting legacy?

Pull out all the stops, win this war and you'll have earned one.

What do you think?

Pray for our troops and the peace of Jerusalem.

God Bless America

Charlie Daniels​