Op-ed: Empty threat

  • By Bob Franken
  • Tuesday, November 17, 2015 5:02pm
  • Opinion

Here is one of the most disturbing questions of all: How do you severely punish groups of fanatics for whom martyrdom is the highest aspiration? When French President Francois Hollande promises his nation “will be merciless toward the barbarians of Islamic State group” and “will act by all means anywhere,” what reason is there to believe that Islamic State maniacs will be moved in any way, except to laugh and expand their murderous assaults on humanity? Even with massive airstrikes, ISIS is threatening new massacres. So the answer is that there is no reason to believe that.

The leaders of so many countries that describe themselves as civilized are largely united in offering their condolences and offers to help France in this dark hour. But as the clock ticks on and the time comes to put meaning behind that resolve, it always seems to melt away as the memory of outrage is consumed by other burning concerns — the latest nastiness from Donald Trump, even the latest Justin Bieber scandal.

The political will, for instance, to put American lives at risk to effectively stop ISIS evaporates. The resolve is a victim, in part, of the cynicism of a nation that has grown weary of wartime loss and even more so about lies their politicians have told to justify the tragedy of military adventures. Any rousing promises of international coalition action against terrorists inevitably fade as leaders of the various countries engage in subterfuge to achieve their national and personal agendas.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Even if you bomb the crazies to smithereens, they will regenerate in the ashes, assisted by their undetectable supporters hiding within the borders of France, England and, yes, the United States. They are our alienated neighbors, secretly waiting for orders to start their own homicidal operation and march on the path to what they consider glory.

The politicians aren’t exactly covering themselves with glory with their bellicose simple-mindedness. First there is the inane argument over whether the lunatics should be described as creatures of “radical Islam.” Then on the Democratic side we have President Barack Obama pronouncing the Islamic State forces “contained” just before they ravaged Paris, and Hillary Clinton, in the debates, justifying her major contributions from Wall Street and the big bankers by ridiculously invoking 9/11. With a straight face, she explained that as a United States senator from New York, she helped the financial industry recover after the attack: “That was good for New York and it was good for the economy, and it was a way to rebuke the terrorists who had attacked our country.” So the big-money people are just showing their gratitude.

Republicans pounced all over that one, but they’re not exactly coming up with any brilliant ideas either. Donald Trump suggests that he would target the oil fields that are held by the extremists, that he would “bomb the s–t” out of them. No nuance to the Trumpster. But we already knew he was a bulls–ter. And there are those like Ben Carson, among others, who advocate “boots on the ground,” forgetting that our leaders are hamstrung both by a lack of public enthusiasm for sending in combat troops and by a military force that is possibly stretched too thin by so many years of combat. Perhaps Dr. Carson is thinking of some sort of surgical strike.

Leave it to Pope Francis to perfectly describe the severe dilemma facing civilization: The terrorist attacks in Paris, he says, are a “piece” of a “piecemeal third world war.” “I am moved,” he continued, “and I am saddened. I do not understand — these things are hard to understand.”

That’s exactly the problem for our leaders. Terrorism is hard to comprehend. The solutions are not all that evident. So far we’ve gotten nothing but saber rattling from those who don’t seem to realize that so far they don’t have any sabers that work.

Bob Franken is a longtime broadcast journalist, including 20 years at CNN.

More in Opinion

Alaska State House District 7 Rep. Justin Ruffridge participates in the Peninsula Clarion and KDLL 91.9 FM candidate forum at the Soldotna Public Library on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Capitol Corner: Putting patients first

Rep. Justin Ruffridge reports back from Juneau.

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, speaks at a town hall meeting in the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly Chambers in Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, March 1, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Capitol Corner: Building better lives for Alaskans

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman reports back from Juneau.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy compares Alaska to Mississippi data on poverty, per-pupil education spending, and the 2024 National Assessment of Education Progress fourth grade reading scores during a press conference on Jan. 31, 2025. Alaska is highlighted in yellow, while Mississippi is in red. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Opinion: Freeing states from the ‘stranglehold’ of the U.S. Department of Education

The USDOE has also been captured by a political ideology that has been harmful to education in America.

Alaska State House District 7 candidate Rep. Justin Ruffridge participates in the Peninsula Clarion and KDLL 91.9 FM candidate forum at the Soldotna Public Library on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Capitol Corner: Building a culture of reading

Rep. Justin Ruffridge reports back from Juneau.

Homer Port Director Bryan Hawkins. (Photo provided)
Opinion: The importance of the Homer Harbor expansion

Alaska’s marine trades and service businesses must be on a competitive playing field with other ports and harbors.

Former Gov. Frank Murkowski speaks on a range of subjects during an interview with the Juneau Empire in May 2019. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Opinion: Advisors to the president should be held to the same conflict of interest standards as members of Congress

Musk’s role reminds me of a policy adopted some years ago by members of Congress — both the House and Senate.

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, delivers a legislative update to the joint Kenai and Soldotna Chambers of Commerce in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Capitol Corner: Town halls and transportation issues on the agenda

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman reports back from Juneau.