I think people hear the words “US” “bomb” and “Iraq” and have an emotional reaction, largely because of the many fuck-ups of the Bush administration last decade—while ignoring the facts of the situation.
Those facts:
• ISIS is a genocidal organization. They are proud of this. They tweet photographs of young girls and civilians they’ve beheaded.
• ISIS’s advance in northern Iraq has caused hundreds of thousands of civilians to flee for their lives.
• Most of those civilians have fled into Kurdistan. The Kurds have welcomed them with open arms, often helping to transport them at tremendous risk.
• Some 40,000 civilians—Yazidis, who ISIS wants to exterminate—are trapped on a mountain, ringed by ISIS fighters.
• The Kurds are outgunned, and ISIS is invading Kurdistan. ISIS moves troops and artillery in armored convoys.
To me, this is a no-brainer. The Kurds are heroes. The Yazidi and other civilians are facing an actual genocide and they despereately need help. Our Air Force can bomb ISIS armor and artillery with zero risk to civilian populations, and the Kurds can then fight back on the ground.
For those of you who want to do nothing because of some vague conception about the lessons of history or strategic non-interventionism, I hope you’re actually paying attention to the details of the situation.