No Room At The Inn... Still?

Half of Syria's "displaced" - 4 million refugees -

Overwhelming efforts by our relief agencies

To give food or shelter; offer help of any kind.

Countries who will take more in are getting hard to find.

There's no place to put them all but overcrowded camps,

In a leaky tent and suffering from hunger cramps,

But those are the lucky ones 'cause they survived the trip;

Slipping out before ISIL can catch them in its grip...

They got past the traffickers who'd sell them off as slaves,

Weren't among the many drowned - an ocean for their graves.

Lucky them.  I bet they're thrilled to make it out alive

Only to be turned away the moment they arrive.

Cancer of the Extremists

Boko Haram's pledged allegiance to the ISIL group,

Cutting out their old, Al-Qaeda allies from the loop.

Both gangs are barbaric so they make a perfect match

But it makes these terrorists more difficult to catch.

Moving into Africa like cancer that has spread:

Lots of open territory that the natives fled,

Schoolgirls they can sell as slaves or kidnap for a bride,

Room to build a Caliphate, a place for them to hide.

Drive them out of Syria or kill them in Iraq;

Doesn't matter... Tumors like these guys keep growing back.

But, as cancer patients know, that's no excuse to quit.

There is nothing we can do but keep on fighting it.

Marie Harf Was Right

 

There's been recent ridicule because someone from State

Said that jobs can combat ideologies of hate

So attractive to the disaffected, angry boys

Most susceptible to slick ISIL recruitment ploys.

Poverty, corruption, inequality, and grief...

Growing old until death, finally, comes as a relief.

Young men will regret that they've "got but one life to give"

When they can't foresee a future they would wanna live.

ISIL gives them promises of glory - and of pay.

Feeling what they've got to lose ain't worth much anyway

Means we'll keep on whacking moles, but our job won't be done

'til those hopeless, young men's future is a better one.

Sticks and Stones

U.S. Cent. Com.'s on-line social sites have been attacked;

Both their YouTube Channel and their Twitter feed were hacked.

Postings made by something called the Cyber Caliphate:

Threats and a recruitment ad for the Islamic State.

It's a war of words in which we find ourselves engaged;

Battles in the chat rooms of the web are being waged.

'though we clearly lost this one, the war ain't over yet...

So we need to strengthen our defenses on the net.

Sony and Home Depot and at least a dozen more

Companies whose customers must track their credit score

After hackers stole their data...  Happens every day

To the folks who've dared to use a credit card to pay.

We could all be victims of this type of cyber crime

But that's not what ISIL's hackers did to us this time...

We were cyber-bullied; had our noses rubbed in dirt.

Meanwhile, ISIL's getting more than just their feelings hurt.

Dear ISIL Girls... Really?

Had a recent spate of random terrorist attacks - 

Soldiers killed in Canada; a nut case with an axe -

ISIL doesn't know their names, and neither do they care;

Without even common ideologies they share.

It sure isn't Islam that these idiots fight for,

Nor is it for territory on some foreign shore,

Nor is it for human rights or common decency;

Only thing in common is barbaric lunacy.

ISIL's p.r. makes their war with Syrians and Kurds

Look as if it might be fun for Call of Duty nerds;

Guys who live in mother's basement and do not have friends,

Open to the nihilistic message ISIL sends.

What I do not understand, however, are the girls.

Knowing that these guys are rapists, murderers, and churls;

Holding females in contempt and selling them as slaves,

Why on earth would women choose to join them in their graves?

The Pottery Barn Rule - Belabouring a Metaphor

"If you break it then you've bought it;" so we've all been told.

Even though the cost is high (and I ain't talking gold.)

Even when the thing was damaged long before we came;

Even if it isn't - ever - gonna be the same.

It's not like we were not warned 11 years ago

That the thing could shatter into pieces...  Now we know

It's not just a single item that we went and broke;

We've brought down the whole damn store in flames and toxic smoke.

Now the rats are scurrying throughout the neighborhood;

We're obliged to go back in and clean them out for good.

But, while we are hunting them, let's try hard not to make

Any major purchases of something else we break.

The UN and ISIL - Promises, Promises

President Obama addressed the UN General Assembly yesterday. (Photo/in.reuters.com)

President Obama gave a speech at the UN

(Kinda like when Daniel stepped into the lions' den)

He stood up to Russia in support of the Ukraine;

Said that Putin's actions there would cost more than they'd gain.

Mainly though, he spoke about the flailing Middle East;

Pointing out, when tensions rise, religions are the yeast.

Sunni versus Shia versus Christian versus Jew...

When you fund a sect you're funding terrorism, too.

Voting was unanimous; the Council stands opposed

To the new Islamic State (whose oil fields we've just closed.)

Countries pledged to do their part - whatever that might be.

Will they keep their solemn words? We'll have to wait and see.

Supporting The President's Strategy

President Obama, with his Nobel Prize for Peace,

And determined that we not become the world's police

Did his best to extricate us from the Middle East...

Give the poor man credit for attempting it, at least.

'though we tried to walk away from it - they've dragged us back.

The Islamic State is where we'll focus our attack.

With a coalition, some who wish to not be named,

Fearful that, when things go wrong, their governments get blamed.

Countries who believe we lack the will to see this through;

Betting that Americans are sick of war...  That's true.

What they haven't counted on, however, is the fact;

We are very good at war once we decide to act.

Congress must support Obama; give him all he needs.

Our words aren't enough right now.  They must be backed with deeds.

We can't fix the Middle East...  Of that there's ample proof.

But, we can find ISIL and put missiles through their roof.

Good Job ISIL

ISIL has accomplished what the U.S. never could;

They've united all the countries in their neighborhood.

What's the single issue on which everyone agrees?

ISIL's brutal fighters must be driven to their knees.

Nations in the region who have always been at odds -

Fighting ever since the mind of man conceived of gods -

Put aside their arguments to face a common foe;

All of them determined, now, that ISIL has to go.

Maybe these alliances between them all won't last

Once this existential threat to Islam's in the past...

But, it's also possible a corner has been turned

And extremist ideologies might yet be spurned.

Now a man who'd only say "America" to cuss,

Iran's Ayatollah's, making overtures to us.

It's an opportunity the U.S. shouldn't waste.

Good job ISIL...  Thanks alot.  We'll see you guys post-haste.

Sincerest Sympathies to NATO Leaders

 

 NATO member leaders, who are gathering in Wales,

Greeted news that France postponed 2 Russian warship sales.

France has been reluctant to give up the revenue

But, with Putin's actions, it's the safest thing to do.

NATO is unhappy about Russians in Ukraine;

Angry that their missiles killed a passenger airplane;

Skeptical of anything that Putin has to say;

Worried that they can't predict how far he plans to stray.

NATO also has to deal with the Islamic State;

(Savage terrorists whose ideology is hate)

Unsure about Syria and which guys they should shoot...

Crisis in Afghanistan - election's in dispute.

Certainly no shortage of the problems NATO faces.

They will be debating if there's need for forward bases.

NATO better start recruiting now to staff them all;

That's a lot of problem spots they're dealing with this Fall.

ISIL's "Second Message to America" - A Reply

Steven Joel Sotloff, the 2nd American journalist to be murdered by the Islamic State as a "Message to America."  (Photo/mashable.com)

ISIL sent a second, brutal message to the States;

With the death of Steven Sotloff, they've just sealed their fates.

If we weren't determined to hunt down the group before

There is now no question of us evening the score.

Sotloff and James Foley may have both been men of peace

But (though ISIL has more hostages they won't release)

We are left without a choice - eliminate the threat.

Think we're doing damage now? You ain't seen nothin' yet.

'though Assad may benefit (he's fighting ISIS, too)

If they flee to Syria, the U.S. must pursue.

President Obama, get that coward in the mask...

Find a way to make them pay.  Is that so much to ask?