First, Friedman provides us with a psychological profile of the persons who fill the ranks of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL:
"Their barbarism comes from a dark place, where radical Islam gives a sense of community to humiliated, drifting young men, who have never held a job or a girl’s hand."
Who would have ever thought? Their obsessive need to behead and crucify enemies stems from their past failure to hold hands with young women! Let's quickly send Jen Psaki and Marie Harf to Syria and Iraq on a hand holding mission!
But in fact, Friedman has a better solution. After providing us with a dialogue between Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth from "Batman: The Dark Knight" (anything that pops into Friedman's head is of earthshaking importance), Tom provides us with "a strategy for dealing with the world of disorder":
"Where there is disorder — think Libya, Iraq, Syria, Mali, Chad, Somalia — collaborate with every source of local, regional and international order to contain the virus until the barbarism burns itself out. These groups can’t govern, so ultimately locals will seek alternatives.
Where there is top-down order — think Egypt or Saudi Arabia — try to make it more decent and inclusive.
Where there is order plus decency — think Jordan, Morocco, Kurdistan, the United Arab Emirates — try to make it more consensual and effective, again to make it more sustainable.
Where there is order plus democracy — think Tunisia — do all you can to preserve and strengthen it with financial and security assistance, so it can become a model for emulation by the states and peoples around it."
Fascinating! But consider the following representative news items from these various Muddle Eastern locales, purportedly providing order of one kind or another:
- In May 2013, as reported by Fox News, an Egyptian mother and her two daughters, who were alleged to have had affairs, were strangled by 10 male relatives; their bodies were then thrown into the Nile.
- In December 2011, as reported by ABC News, a Saudi woman accused of witchcraft and sorcery was beheaded. In June 2012, as reported by the BBC, a Saudi man was also beheaded for witchcraft and sorcery.
- In June 2013, CNN reported, "Almost half of boys and one in five girls in Jordan's capital city, Amman, believe that killing a woman who has 'dishonored,' or shamed, her family is justifiable, a study of teenagers' attitudes published Thursday revealed."
- As reported by The Times of India: "In Morocco, Article 418 of Penal Code grants 'extenuating circumstances' to a husband who murders or injures his wife for 'flagrante delicto'. About 200 women are killed each year in such fashion in the country, as per private estimates."
- In June 2014, a father in Abu Dhabi (one of the UAE emirates), who whipped his 12-year-old son to death for poor school grades, had his one-year jail sentence quashed. As reported by The National, "Sharia states that a parent cannot be executed for killing his or her own child."
- In May 2014, as reported by Sharia Unveiled, a Tunisian man burned his daughter to death for walking home from school with a male classmate.
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Tunisia are going to provide order to a "world of disorder"? Yeah, right.
Kurdistan? Well, that's a horse of a different color. The Kurds have consistently shown themselves to be friends of the United States. On the other hand, the Obama administration is being very careful not to assist the Kurds in their ground battle with ISIS, so as not to offend Turkey.
Go back to sleep, Tom.
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