In the annals of history their are many brutish examples of atrocities being committed by states and revolutionaries. Even so, the twentieth century stands out. More blood was spilled during the that century than all others combined, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Hitler and Pol Pot alone killed tens of millions. The Armenian and Rwandan genocides act like bookends to a century of bloodshed. This, the dawn of a new century, shows that this one could be as bad as the last. While the genocide being committed by ISIS has not yet reached the levels of a Pol Pot or a Hitler, the Islamist have more than equaled their brutality. Executing thousands, raping women in mass, renewing the slave trade, cutting the throats of children and using their heads for soccer balls, their evil knows no limits. Crimes against humanity does not seem to aptly describe the rampages of ISIS, but no other words have been developed to fit what they have done. Curiously, it is also a charge that the UN and Western leaders have been slow to level against the demonic evil that is called ISIS.

The venerable Edmond Burke once said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” An adage that is as true as it is ignored. While one cannot say nothing is being done against ISIS, for certain they have not been taken seriously enough by the West. President Obama has done nothing more than try to contain ISIS, even that effort seems to be halfhearted. When told more troops were needed just to fulfill his goal of supporting the Iraqis, he decided to put in on hold a few months until after the election. The actions of a dangerous political fool.

The Islamic world is watching closely the reactions of the West. While moderates hide in fear and the extremest wait in anticipation, the tribal leaders are keeping a close eye on the direction of the wind. They are all waiting to see if the West will bow before the ISIS onslaught or crush it. The trickle of Islamist now coming to ISIS aid will become a flood if the resolve of the West is determined to be weak. Tribal leaders as well will start joining themselves to that dark mass of evil now swarming the earth if that is where the advantage lies. In the Arab world tribal alliances are often fleeting, yesterdays foe can be tomorrows ally. The ebb and flow of allegiances often dependent on who holds the stronger hand.

Knowing these things, who can blame the Islamist sympathizing president of Turkey for playing both sides? Last week President Erdogan said of the West, “They look like friends, but they want us dead, they like seeing our children die. How long will we stand that fact?” This from a NATO partner and EU member aspirant? As Turkish companies sell ISIS oil,, their government forces watch ISIS attack civilians across their border and even let ISIS forces base attacks from their land, can they really be called an ally? That their tanks are lined up to repel full out invasion from ISIS shows them not fully an enemy either.

The truth is, Turkey is neither friend nor foe. They, like the tribal Arabs, are opportunist waiting to see which side is most beneficial to join. A country with blood of millions on its hands, its leadership cares little for the minions being tortured under the ISIS flag. Turkey is in many ways an enigma in the Muslim world. It has modern nightclubs and hosts tourists from the around the world but it has an Islamist heart. Though it has a vibrant Westernized culture on the surface, under that facade lies something different altogether. In Turkey child brides are traded in appalling numbers and honor killings are a common event, reflections of a deep rooted Islamist culture.

As Vice President Biden begs him to help bail out Obama’s impotence, the jaded cynicism of the Turkish president towards his NATO partners is front and center. All the world watches to see how this diplomatic dance will end, especially those with caliphate dreams. The Turks know what is in their best interest, and inviting the wrath of ISIS to defend the honor of a perceived coward is likely not it. Unless President Obama throws aside his preoccupation with anti-colonialism and gains a backbone, the tides of war will continue to turn against him. Turkey for its part needs assurances that it won’t be abandoned like Obama has done to so many others. No one wants to be on the side of someone that is not resolute in their own plans, something no one can claim about ISIS. 

Unfortunately, the more the West placates Islamist and denies the threat they pose, the weaker the West looks in the eyes of these radicals. Consequently, by worrying about being politically correct and not offending the religion of Islam, they are strengthening the hand of evil. Forsaking their own principals, they become sycophants seeking the favor of the those who seek their destruction. In truth, why should the Islamist look at the West with anything but disgust? What respect is due those who deny the substance of their own convictions?

In trying to avoid offending those who are offended by the West’s very existence, they have been fertilizing the ground from which terrorism grows. Caring more for Democracy than individual rights and the RuIe of Law, the have set the Muslim world on fire. Abandoning and breaking promises to Muslim allies, the U.S. and the Europeans have burnt bridges of good will once forged with much blood. The truth is, ISIS is as much a creation of the West as it is of the world of Islam.

Looking weak and ineffectual, President Obama is adding to Western woes. For weakness in the face of the tyrannical forces of evil is an invitation to destruction. By trying to avoid the storm of Islamist fervor, he is inviting the West to reap the whirlwind of their wrath. ISIS is but the tip of a bloody spear being thrust into the heart of civilization around the globe. A murderous mass of darkness destroying Christians, moderate Muslims and others without mercy. If there is not the will to stop them while there are still allies among the Muslim world willing to fight along side the West, then the West will have to fight them alone on their own doorsteps.

“The Conservative Mind”

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the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by storm, Mathew 11:12