Frontline: The Rise of ISIS

Frontline: The Rise of ISIS
PBS details the origins of ISIS, and makes the case for permanent policing of the world
By Brian4Liberty - October 29, 2014

(RPF) - Last night, the PBS documentary show Frontline debuted an episode about The Rise of ISIS. As usual, Frontline provided more detailed information than is usually found on mainstream television. In this regard, the show was very informative, especially for people who may not have previously known about the ongoing political, religious and ethnic divisions in Iraq. The case against Nouri al-Maliki as a brutal and paranoid ruler was emphatically presented.

The documentary starts with a description of ISIS as nothing more than a ragtag group of hardened Sunni fighters, abandoned in the desert when the United States withdrew from Iraq. This initial description is the start of a theme that is threaded throughout the episode. Along with unbiased descriptions of the situation in Iraq and Syria since the withdrawal of the US military, there are frequent opinions expressed by supposed experts which proclaim that at every turn, if the US had just become more involved in the fighting, then everything would have been different.

The calls for US action start with lamentations that al-Maliki was not kept on a short enough lease. Of course this would necessarily mean that Iraq would not be an independent nation, but a nation controlled and funded by the US. It would probably require the US military to remain in Iraq on permanent policing duty. The appropriateness of this role for the US military, and the cost to US taxpayers, never seem to be a consideration.

As the story continues with ISIS moving into Syria to fight against Bashar al-Assad, the case is made that if only the US had strongly and immediately aided the rebels in overthrowning Assad, then things would have been different. What that difference would be is not explored. The implication is always that a wonderful secular Democracy would arise, but no proof for this prediction is ever provided. The lessons of Libya and Egypt would not help their case, it actually counters their argument. The fact that trillions of dollars, thousands of lost US soldiers, and a decade-long occupation failed to tame Iraq is ignored. Apparently, their solution is permanent occupation, and past failure is no predictor of future results.

Needless to say, the calls for more military aid and boots on the ground by the "experts" continue when the program finally gets to the current situation. All we need is more time, more money and more military effort, and then we can repeat our claims that we have created a peaceful, secular, united Iraq. Perhaps the failed objective of a united Iraq needs to be reassessed. In reality, the only thing that would unite a fractured Iraq is a permanent and brutal overseer. Is this really a role for America?

All in all, the documentary does provide some very good background information, albeit from a selective point of view. As with any media, it needs to be taken with a grain of salt and skepticism. The propaganda aspect can never be ignored. In this case, the common denominator seems to be the opinion that if the US would just aggressively intervene internationally, then everything will be fine. Past failures, an outrageous cost in US treasure and lives, and the destruction of the US Constitution are discounted when the goal is permanent and bloody policing of the world.