What needs to be discussed regarding ISIS

Much has been talked about regarding the ISIS phenomena but I argue not enough focus has been on the true culprits behind this scourge. What you are seeing in the Arab world is nothing short of a meltdown of biblical proportion. All the conflicts across the Middle East - putting aside the Palestinian/Israeli issue - is a reflection on what exactly? Clearly, a toxic mix of religion and extremism is what we see on the news - but what is truly happening? Unfortunately, the media fails to explain the context, instead they do the body count routine, present the gore and mayhem, give the simplistic explanation that "Islamic extremism" is all you need to know about the mayhem in that region. Let us say you see someone under 18 misbehaving, even committing criminal acts and in that scenario who is to blame for such anti-social behavior? You obviously hold the parents responsible. The parents are responsible for raising a kid who doesn't engage in criminal activities or in any kind of delinquent behavior. Therefore, why is it we absolve the governments where these ISIS fanatics come from? The reason is many of these fanatics come from countries that are allied with the US. Why after 911 we didn't punish the Saudi regime considering how all the hijackers were Saudi citizens? What needs to be said about all the Arab countries is that they are failed states. And as a result, such dysfunction produces all kind of maladies. One is religious extremism. This extremism grew in a cesspool that is Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Arab emirates, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and the list goes on - where governments are aristocratic/dictatorial. These governments failed miserably to educate their people, to provide jobs, to provide a better life and the list is endless how these governments failed in every measure possible. They run these countries like their own personal slave plantations. Anyone who dares to question their rule is met with prison or death. There is no freedom of expression or freedoms of any kind regarding political activity. The situation is dire for many. This is the context, not an excuse for the fanaticism or the violence. In order to win this battle against extremism, one has to understand where it comes from. The right believes more bombings or military force - including ground forces - is what is needed to defeat ISIS. Such action will only add more recruits to ISIS not defeat it. Our focus should be on these governments. We need to stop propping up these wretched regimes. That means letting these fanatics get their pound of flesh. This process has been brewing for a generation and our involvement in that region has only slightly delayed the inevitable. We don't need the oil from that part of the world as we have become oil independent. So what is the excuse now? Why be the ones siding with kings, emirs, sheiks, and dictators? We need to pull out completely from that region and let these people work out their differences. Those who say if we leave now the region will only implode need to be reminded that the implosion has already happened. We need to stop meddling and let these fanatics and those people who are unhappy with their situation direct their anger at their own governments rather than us becoming a punching bag or a distraction conveniently propped up by these corrupt regimes to avoid any accountability.

Will Iran and the P-5 come to an agreement?

It is hard to believe that a deal can be be reached considering the many forces working hard to scuttle any attempt of normalizing relations with Iran. Israel and their apologists in this country are a formidable force that I'm sure President Obama will easily attest to. The idea that Iran can be allowed to enrich uranium of any scope, have sanctions lifted against it and allowed to re-join the international community as a legitimate regional power is something that I'm sure keeps many in Israel and many governments in the Arab world very nervous. The Saudi's, Egyptians and Jordanians and those sheikdoms in the emirates benefited greatly from the status quo. These regimes - monarchs and dictatorships - have usurped all the power and maintained their grip over their people by brute force. Of course, this all happened with the help and direct involvement of the United States. The world order that was carved out of the ruins after World War 1 is in serious jeopardy of imploding. The map of the Middle East that was drawn by the British and French and maintained by the Americans since 1945 today faces real challenges of being redrawn. This struggle between Sunni and Shiite is one layer of the divide. The other of course is the struggle of the Sunni's against Western imperialism and the 1917 Sykes-Picot Agreement that established the borders we see today. This includes rejection of the creation of Israel but what is interesting, the Palestinian and Israeli conflict is truly taking a back seat to a much bigger historical tsunami converging on the region. to be continued......