Why oh why was ‘no action’ ever an option?

Yazidi girl cries surrounded by the slaughter of the men in her family

Obama has finally authorised military strikes on the terrorist group formerly known as ISIS. It took tens of thousands of men, women and children being forced to flee their town and go and take refuge on a mountain top for a new wave of humanitarianism to emerge and stop the slaughter of the vile and violent, now renamed ‘Islamic State’, which would seem to be more appropriately named ‘the Terrible State’.

I know that I am in a significant minority on this one, but for my part I cannot fathom why no action was ever an option. We should have moved in months ago when these unspeakably sick sadists were waving severed heads about and the then ISIS marketing campaign was in full flow, offering  cash and virgins to any spotty Muslim teenager living in the West that felt like indulging his personal grudge on having to live in a democracy, only to emigrate to a new and anarchic repressive state that makes North Korea look benevolent by comparison.

All Western countries are now faced with the almost insurmountable problem that an unknown quantity of youths, possibly running to thousands, have been radicalised and trained by this squad of sadistic psychos and, with no effective military strategy to stop them, more teenagers leave our shores every day hoping to win glory – and a virgin or 72. Some countries, such as Australia, are now admitting that we may see these jihadists returning to their home countries fully radicalised, suffering from post-traumatic stress and having qualities more reminiscent of a remote-controlled bomb. To say that this situation has been mismanaged in terms of response is an overwhelmingly shocking understatement.

Western governments must learn to counter the jihadist marketing rhetoric with reality by involving high-profile Muslims in entertainment and sport to spread the ethos of moderate Islam, though they will have a tough job on their hands. Islam cannot recognise what we call democracy, nor even human rights when suicide bombing is one of their war tactics and death and limb amputation form a component of its judicial punishments.  Recognising such conflicts as they emerge and degrading their ability to mesmerise Muslim youths in our countries must play a greater role, but so too must the use of military solutions to outright barbaric slaughter, or we will not only lose our claim to be ‘the civilised world’, but also pay a heavy price by having a not-so-far-away country that is run by supremacist Islamists that will tolerate none but their own warped kind.

There is no deterrent for those going to the jihad if they are effectively unchallenged by military force. This is akin to the Mafia on steroids and not responding swiftly and effectively will see ‘inhuman Islam’ grow ever-faster. Leave the Islamic State in place and watch the map turn black.