Ok, then. From the President's speech we're sort of at war with ISIL? Not exactly war, according to John Kerry, but sorta. Let's just call it large scale counter terrorism, he says. More like humanitarian bombings.
But, my question is, which is the greater threat, short and long term to Americans? ISIL with Toyotas, Arabian machetes and machine guns or the American Petroleum Institute with tipping point stage carbon overload?
My bet is on carbon caused warming and flooding. But, not so fast, because the American Petroleum Institute also has a hand in the middle east crisis and threatened final days caused by the ultimate war between the Caliphate and the Infidels, which apparently includes us here in the U.S. of A.
You see, ISIL is selling pretty huge amounts of crude on the black market thanks to U.S. extraction technology and expertise sold to the producers in both Iraq and Syria. That crude then ships to black markets allowed by our sort of allies in Turkey and then on to sort of allies in Jordan and not so allied Iran. The latter at least not yet, unless we smarten up and do a deal with them.
Now, to further explain the American Petroleum Institute's involvement in this extremely convoluted caper, they advocate, lobby and represent companies supplying extraction tools and technology to these brand new coalition of the killing partners: Bahran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. In some cases we supply both downstream and upstream oil services.
Oh, and did I mention that funding is flowing to ISIL out of most of these "partners" ?
The million dollar question now is which among these guys, plus other coalition partners of the killing from Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon will put enough boots on the ground, headed toward ISIL, not away from them to do the necessary killing with our air, missile and drone support? Remains to be seen doesn't it?
Frankly, I like Phyllis Bennis's take on all this much better. In fact, I wish President Obama brought her in as chief of national security. Her idea, from the Institute of Policy Studies, is a 6 step program: l. Stop air strikes creating more extremists, not fewer. 2. No boots, none at all, and no armaments. 3. Immediately cut a deal with Iran who can do this job on ISIL all alone with diplomacy. 4. Create a coalition of diplomacy in the U.N., engaging Russia, Turkey, The Saudi's, Qatar and the U.A.E. 5. Push the U.N. to end the civil war in Syria and exploit the rumored movement toward an Assad exit in Syria. 6. Undertake massive rebuilding aid with Iraq and Syria and undercut the political/governance ambitions of ISIL there.
It is Ironic that just as President Obama pivots on aiding some Syrian rebel groups, the most successful and reliable option's leader was killed on the battlefield.
By the way, bragging about our successes in Somalia and Yemen, Mr. President? You're grasping at straws. Let's focus our energies on stemming the already irreversible climate change impacts on our shorelines and agricultural production and get the hell out of the carbon extraction business, which ought to include fracking.
I was moved to tears at Obama's election in 2008 as our first ever black and anti-war president. Now I'm moved to tears that the national security establishment and neo-cons have won the hearts and minds in the oval office, in spite of the current warning from both the intelligence and military sectors that attempting to destroy ISIL on basically our own is a fools errand.
