The 'is-ness' of the IS

The ‘is-ness’ of the IS, is beginning to scare the reason out of me. I can think of no other explanation for wondering if it might not be time for the United Nations.org to contract with Mossad to deal with the problem; which is a terrible thing for a pacifist, dyed-in-the-wool, one world anti death  penalty, hippie freak to have to admit.

On the one hand, there is this. A caliphate needs, must have, a caliph, a leader appointed due to his proximity to god, One whose Voice must be obeyed, thoughtlessly. A vast swathe of the Middle East is now under the command of just such a Caliph. Catastrophically for some, a huge number of some, unfortunately for the rest of us, that Caliph seems to be the kind that thinks blood is a good cleansing fluid and that the world needs a good cleansing, as per His god. Proof of that, according to him, is the wealth of resource that His god has given unto him; wealth that He can use to convince testosterone stoked young men who think virgins are actually fun to…uh, you know, have a relationship with. These young men are, of course, in no mood to think about the bloody task that has been given to them. Their blood is not cooling their brains. Their dumb-sticks are driving the tanks that seem to be the favored mode of transportation for the cleaning crews. Besides, they don’t do any thinking. All of the thinking is done by the Caliph, who knows everything and has shown them the map to paradise.

Now, under those circumstances, does it not make sense for the rest of us to do something about our, (yes, our, we, all of us allowed him to happen – but that’s another chain of thought), Caliph and his delusions? Caliphates are not hydra headed monsters. One head, one motivator, remove him and his thoughtless followers can be treated as the petty, if violent, directionless criminals that they are. Mossad has shown itself to be quite proficient at surgical strikes, quite a few times. Why not let ‘em loose on Whacko al-Insani of the IS? Think of the amount of concentrated misery that can be alleviated. Think of the resources being squandered that can be put to far better use. There is an emotional satisfaction in the thought that the Caliph’s demise could bring closure for some of his victims.

The other hand has a whole bunch of “Yeah, buts…”; among the whole for-very-good-reasons thing about political assassinations not being conducive to amity and world peace. Then there’s the killing for justice and its oxymoronic euphony; ethical, public trial and conviction before condemnation thing, working its way into the confusion of what-to-dos and the need to do something. The knowledge that killing the head is not getting to the root reason for the Rise of the Monsters

My head hurts.