Yesterday, we discussed another massive book burning by Islamic State as well as reports of the destruction of ancient art pieces. The latter report appears true after ISIS posted a video of its militants taking sledgehammers and drills to ancient art work and statues going back to the 7th Century. The actions are reminiscent of the infamous destruction of the famous giant Buddhas of Bamiyan.
This is the history and culture of a people being systematically destroyed by a force of hatred and ignorance. Fueling by their extreme view of Islam, these men are eradicating evidence of their own civilization at the direction of clerics who see the images as offensive to God. To watch these ignorant men destroying priceless pieces of art is sickening. However, it should be watched. Ironically, just as ISIS wants people to see this, so do those who oppose them. This is truly the fact of ISIS. What remains incredible is that thousands of people in the West see images of decapitations and destruction and flock to IS while most of humanity, including most Muslims, are entirely repelled by these images.
It is a glimpse into the nightmare of those who have spent their lives preserving ancient works from this area for future generations. ISIS is wiping out any identity beyond its own blood-soaked, hateful image of religious orthodoxy.
Meanwhile, Iraq’s national museum re-opened today 12 years after it was looted following the U.S. led invasion. I get that JT is representing the H of R currently, but that doesn’t change the facts…
Mr Schulte
I hope that was a joke.
TJustice – I never joke. I have no sense of humor.
This just made me sick. So much history and culture wantonly destroyed.
Annie,
IF… IF these continuing wars are, ARE so important and the Nation is, IS at imminent threat by, BY (fill in imminent threat du jour), then why, WHY aren’t we using our most abundant resource available to us to fight this threat, our son’s and daughters??? Too precious they say? Precious enough to loose a Nation to ISIL?
Yes indeed Max. Let’s see how they embrace endless war when they have some skin in the game. Exactly.
slohrss29
“Plus, we want another war? Raise taxes now and pay for it up front. Then see how popular it is.”
= = =
Add a draft. Skin in the game. Going on 14 years of war now… Isn’t it time for some Senators’ children to be drafted into their daddy’s/mommy’s war?
Antiquities Scholar: Islamic State’s Destruction of Museum & Library is Cultural & Ethnic Cleansing
http://youtu.be/9QUZEPqh3rs
Eric, don’t agree at all. It’s that sure-thinking that causes these situations to begin. Facts and situations are way too transient to calculate exact results.
Plus, we want another war? Raise taxes now and pay for it up front. Then see how popular it is.
ISIS has socked us right where in the stomach, where hurts the most–ancient cultural art. That hurts and affects people more than the beheadings and torture of many human beings. It seems to hurt more than the thousands of children tortured and killed before their parents eyes, or sent into a life of prostitution and slavery. Why? Because human life isn’t valued as much as precious art. Human life can be replaced. But precious ancient art can never be replaced. As much as art is enjoyed and needed to understand the past, it is human life that needs to be highly valued and protected.
slohrss29: “We try, we’ll start the largest event of Stockholm syndrome in the history of the world, and ISIS knows that. That’s why they keep baiting us.”
That’s incorrect.
They “keep baiting us” because the terrorists work on a strong-horse/weak-horse model. They want a fight with us. But. The key qualification is they want a fight with us because they believe we are now the weak horse and they’ll win as the strong horse.
It’s fundamental to the terrorists’ strategy that their will and willingness outweigh the material advantages of their opponents. Right now, their assessment is their will outweighs the will of the West, particularly the will of the putative leader of the free world. Right now, they want to fight us because they believe that US leadership is the weak horse.
The low point for the terrorists was 2008-2009 as they were being rolled on battlefields around the world, especially Iraq and Afghanistan. Wherever US forces fought them, terrorists died. Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda had declared Iraq to be the final battle where the West would be defeated. Instead, when the Counterinsurgency “Surge” decimated the terrorists, al Qaeda recruitment dropped off severely because AQ was shown to be the weak horse by the COIN “Surge” and Anbar Awakening.
The counter-terrorism dividends achieved under Bush allowed Obama to dismiss ISIS as the “JV team”.
Unfortunately, the terrorists have resurged since President Bush left office in large part because of the weak-horse gaps opened by President Obama’s rejection of the fundamental strong-horse counter-terrorist strategy.
Obama’s errors with his feckless ‘lead from behind’ approach to the Arab Spring and irresponsible exit from Iraq were akin to stopping an antibiotic course most of the way through because the patient is feeling better, but before the disease is neutralized, thus allowing the hardened remnants of the disease to resurge.
It’s not clear that a COIN “Surge” redux could work against ISIS as we had defeated AQI. But it is clear that a sufficient strong-horse strategy is necessary to defeat the terrorists in a fight we were winning by 2009 and would have continued to win had the President stayed the course.
You are wrong Nick. If it is Jews they won’t have a problem with it.
Honesty is saying what happens in the heat of battle is the same as deliberately destroying works of art in an act of malice. Check.
It’s barbaric, unacceptable, and disturbing when ISIS does it. And it is barbaric, unacceptable, and disturbing when we do it (not just illegal). It was but a decade ago when people in this same region compared us to the Mongols during their invasions of the 13th century. We destroyed artifacts and invaded hospitals too. Academic honesty please.
TJustice – we also had the Monument Men trying to save art.
FogDog, For the appeasers, I think the benchmark is 6 million dead. If these savages start coming close to the “never again” 6 million maybe then the gloves will come off.
Another great victory for the religion of pease. I eagerly await po’s explanation as to how this is perfectly acceptable under Sharia Law and certainly justifiable since Federick Babarossa once wiped his boots on a tapestry in 1189.
Heartbreaking. WHY were relics left within their reach? Let this be a call to action to evacuate any artifacts, works of art, and anything else portable from museums in the region.