“We cannot kill our way out of this war,” State Department spokesperson Marie Harf said on Tuesday. “We need in the medium to longer term to go after the root causes that leads people to join these groups, whether it’s lack of opportunity for jobs …” Since then, Harf has been attacked by conservatives, particularly for her jobs remarks. But she’s right in her assessment.
And, I would suggest, she should have gone further: There’s reason to think that bombing is exactly what ISIS wants us to do. Why else would they be goading us into it?
It’s called “terrorism” for a reason. The goal is to cause terror, to scare people into acting — or overreacting. The most recent ISIS propaganda video was produced in English for a reason. It seems they want the West to react and take the bait. And we are obliging.
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