Just about everyone has an opinion of what President Obama should do about the ISIS threat in Iraq. Many of the suggestions have come from the architects of America’s latest invasion of Iraq who claimed the nine year war that led to more than 25,000 and 110,000 injuries among American and coalition troops, would last not more than six months.
Whatever the President does or doesn’t do, a rabid minority will attack him and stuff their suggestions with the vileness of hate and politics. Most suggestions are based on ignorance and are easily dismissed.
But, there is one possible suggestion that may have merit.
On Sean Hannity’s Fox TV show, Phil Robertson, the Duck Dynasty patriarch and one of the world’s greatest military and diplomatic strategists, suggested that America tell ISIS fighters either to convert or be killed.
Millions of Americans—who called radical Muslims who preached such a doctrine, “barbarians” or “terrorists”—don’t seem to have a problem with converting Muslims to Christianity, the one true religion.
While Robertson had a good idea, he didn’t explain any way to implement it.
I do.
First, take a couple of Marine infantry regiments. Place them into Iraq. Make sure each soldier has an AR-15, which in fully automatic mode can fire 800 rounds a minute and is one of the weapons the NRA believes all Americans should have a right to possess. After all, those deer can be quite elusive.
Next, make sure every soldier also has a duck call. I recommend Duck Commander’s Homeland Security duck call. It’s only about $150 each, or about $1.5 million retail if both regiments are at full strength. This sale will help spur the American war economy. The soldiers will use the quackers to lure and mesmerize the ISIS fighters.
The Robertson clan needs to be on the front lines as decoys. Because the clan looks like terrorists, the ISIS terrorists will think long-haired, bearded camouflaged-wearing Robertsons are kin-folk.
When the terrorists are rounded up, bring out the support troops—a company of white Southern Baptist preachers. The terrorists will be given a choice. Allow the preachers to dunk them into the Tigris or Euphrates, the source of what we believe is civilization, or face hell-fire-and-brimstone from AR-15s.
Some may suggest that Islam, primarily a peace-loving religion whose Koran shares much of the Old and New Testaments, is tainted by a minority of radical terrorists. They may claim that to even suggest a convert-or-be-killed philosophy is in itself not just the reflection of bigotry and hatred but can be seen as little more than a terrorist threat. Nonsense. Isn’t it no less than treason to doubt the wisdom of a millionaire duck call manufacturer and his legions of followers who drool over Reality TV?
History suggests the convert-or-be-killed strategy that the Chief Duck Caller proposed should be effective. After all, Roman Catholics during the Inquisition converted about 100,000 Jews, most of whom took Christian names. Of course, most also practiced Judaism secretly, but as long as they pretended to be Christians, that’s all that matters. Naturally, the Jews weren’t alone—there were and still are many pretend Christians.
The ones who weren’t “convinced” that Christianity was the one true religion were burned at the stake or exiled. Apparently, none of the leaders of the Inquisition, whether in medieval Europe in the 13th century or the Iberian Peninsula during the 15th century, figured out that Jesus was born, lived, and died a Jew. And none figured out that Judaism and Islam are brother religions, and that Christianity is a descendant of both.
Nevertheless, the convert-or-kill philosophy, espoused by the duck callers and millions of others who watch and believe whatever it is that is broadcast by the entertainment network that calls itself “fair and balanced,” is just what the American democracy needs to wipe out ISIS.
Quack. Quack.
Walter Brasch’s book, America’s Unpatriotic Acts, was the first major book to catalogue and then destroy the government’s belief that the PATRIOT Act was necessary to protect American security at the expense of the Bill of Rights. His current book is Fracking Pennsylvania, which looks into the health, environmental, and economic effects of fracking.