US Strikes ISIL Targets In Syria

Taco Cowboy writes The United States of America has launched airstrikes, along with some of its Arab partners such as Jordan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Qatar, against ISIL targets in Syria. ... Before the airstrike was officially announced to the press, a Syrian man living in Raqqa, Syria, tweeted about the bombings and the sounds of air drones all over Raqqa. ... Tomahawk missiles were launched from USS Arleigh Burke in the Red Sea. Stealth fighters such as F-22s were also involved in the strike.

Comments

I'll just let my sig do the talking

[NotDrWho]

'nuff said

Re:I'll just let my sig do the talking

[meta-monkey]

What? Bombs and guns and tanks don't contribute anything to society. They're necessary, yes, but they don't create wealth, they consume it. Every dime spent on defense and prisons is a loss to infrastructure and progress. It's just make-work.

Re:I'll just let my sig do the talking

[HeckRuler]

He's falling for the common mistake that "job creation" is good for the economy, regardless of what that job is.
We could form companies that employed people to literally rob you in the street and some politicians would argue that they need a tax break "FER DA JERBS!"

The classic example is the broken window fallacy. Just as breaking windows does not produce a net gain for society, "running through inventory" does not help society, even if a few people are paid to clean up the mess afterwards.

As assuredly as a rising tide raises all boats, the drain on society that the DoD represents sinks all boats. They are a burden bringing us down and, frankly, making us non-competitive with China. We need some defense, but not this much.

Re:I'll just let my sig do the talking

[hermitdev]

Loss to infrastructure? Why did the US interstate highway system get built? It was a direct result of the US Army's difficulty in moving troops and equipment cross country. There are also requirements that every so often they roads remain straight long enough to be used emergency runways. I don't buy loss to progress, either. A lot of technological progress has been pioneered through military research. That I'm able to even post this comment right now was a result of DARPA funded work.

Re:I'll just let my sig do the talking

[HeckRuler]

Remember, you are a citizen of your state first and a THEN a citizen of the United States.

Fuck the Governor! I'm backing my Mayor's god-given authority over man and we'll fight tooth and nail if the state troopers try and pry the hard-earned cash from our poor hungry neighbors. You've got to have community! You've got to stand up together and fight the oppressive gubernational tyrants! What do I care if some shmuck in a city way out over there has a tornado plow through his home, what's that to me? I don't know that guy. He's not my neighbor.

If those farmboys think they can get fat off of the hard-working city-man, then they have another thing coming! GOGO CITY POWER!

And pay no heed to these poor rabble-rousers that think groups of people WITHIN the city need representation. We either stand together under the mayor, or we all fall apart.

(SARCASM)

DAESH, not ISIL

[Lilith's Heart-shape]

Don't grant these pigfuckers undeserved legitimacy by calling them an "Islamic State". They are neither Islamic, nor a legitimate state. They are a gang of murderers and rapists, nothing more.

Re:DAESH, not ISIL

[K. S. Kyosuke]

Well, they based their state on what they divined from the Quran, right? That certainly doesn't make them Buddhist. Regarding the "state" part, State of Palestine is also considered to be a state by many countries. Legitimacy is merely about how many people you can convince. It's not a thing you can measure with a multimeter or something.

Re:DAESH, not ISIL

[Locmar]

Well, they based their state on what they divined from the Quran, right? That certainly doesn't make them Buddhist. Regarding the "state" part, State of Palestine is also considered to be a state by many countries. Legitimacy is merely about how many people you can convince. It's not a thing you can measure with a multimeter or something.

That doesn't mean we're obligated to help them gain legitimacy by volunteering to use the name they want us to. Their goal is to be seen as a legitimate state representing all Muslims. They aren't and they don't. Also, "daesh" pisses them off, which should give all decent folk a twinge of slightly immature pleasure.

Re:DAESH, not ISIL

[itzly]

For every muslim, there's another muslim who will claim that the first is not a muslim.

Re:DAESH, not ISIL

[professionalfurryele]

The KKK are Christian. They aren't exactly representative of modern Christianity (or of Christianity back when the KKK was more substantial), although there was a big subset of the South who were sympathetic to them. The comparison is actually very apt. IS or Daesh or whatever you want to call them (I'd prefer Daesh as it is what the locals call them when they aren't pointing guns at them), is Islamic. It isn't representative of modern Islam, or even of Islam in the region. Thier theology is also a pretty piss poor interpretation of the source text of Islam, an argument you would be right to make, just like the KKK bastardised the Bible (note, I don't like the Quran and think it has some horrid ideas but it is pretty fucking clear that many of Daesh actions are reprehensible). But you cant ignore the fact that they appear to be sincere a fair chunk of the time when they say part of their motivation is religious.

Re:DAESH, not ISIL

[jedidiah]

s/muslim/xian/g

This works for every ism out there. That's why the "no true scottsman" fallacy is such a fallacy. You can only ever judge something by what it produces. This includes the battle of Tours, the siege of Vienna, and ISIL.

They are "muslim enough" to take and hold half of Syria and half of Iraq without being ejected from either by the native population.

Re:F-22's don't drop bombs.

[qwijibo]

The locking clamps disengage from the ordinance hugging configuration. Gravity is at fault for everything that happens from that point forward.

Re:F-22's don't drop bombs.

[niks42]

Bombs don't kill people, gravity kills people?

Re:F-22's don't drop bombs.

[halivar]

It's never the fall that kills you. It's always the sudden stop at the end.

Re:Aggression in practice, right?

[halivar]

The Ukrainians weren't cutting heads off or systematically slaughtering entire towns for being the wrong religion, so no, it's not "exactly as justified." Not even close.

I'm not political...

[Thud457]

I'm just sitting here waiting to watch the archduke drive by.

Re:Points of interest.

[phantomfive]

You're getting deep into conspiracy there. One of your major source websites is serious about chemtrails. That's just one clue of irrationality......