Somebody asked me the other day exactly what this group calling themselves ISIS or ISIL, or any other number of names is. And why in the world are they so pissed off at everybody else? I’m by no means a religious scholar, but I do like to learn about things that impact me. And since the Islamic State of Iraq, as they were calling themselves when I was deployed, were the very group that was in control of the city of Baqubah when we entered it in March of 2007. They fled Baghdad prior to the troop surge and overran the city of Baqubah and made it their provincial capital by murdering and torturing and using fear tactics to intimidate the local population. On a brighter note, after seven brutal months of fighting them there, we killed and captured over 1000 of them.

So who are they? This particular group of people is a group of Sunni Muslims that were at one point affiliated with Al Qaida, but were expelled from the group because of the degree of their fanaticism. Their goal is to create a worldwide Caliphate, which is a borderless land ruled by the strictest form of Sharia law. You know, the one where women are stoned to death if they are forcibly sexually assaulted because they are no longer pure. They are people who have so insanely misinterpreted the teachings of Islam that they feel empowered by their God to make the world Muslim, and kill anyone and everyone who disagrees with them. They also claim that America and all of us living here are the root of all evil for promoting a world of democracy which directly opposes the religious dictatorship they want. However, to disprove their credibility, they have killed many thousands of true Muslims who were smart enough not to buy into their false ideology.

So how do they intend to achieve this? They would seem to be big believers in imposing their beliefs on others through the use of the most brutal violence and intimidation methods you can imagine. I saw this first hand when we pushed them out of their strongholds and saw the brand of ‘justice’ they left behind them as they fled. We found torture houses with devices and tools used on people that I couldn’t have ever thought of. We found dozens of shallow graves with murdered people, and in some cases families in them. By shallow I mean limbs and heads could clearly be seen under a shallow spreading of dirt. Families, including children and even infants were used as target practice because they refused to buy into their beliefs. I have a lot of admiration for a person who is willing to knowingly face that kind of ending rather than submit to the cowardly demands of misguided murderers. I doubt there are a lot of people who would choose death rather than succumbing to a sicko’s demands of submitting to them. I don’t know if I could do it. I have a lot more doubts and questions when it comes to religion than I have answers.

I’ve read a lot of articles and news stories about what is going on there now. I hear that group talk about bravery and martyrdom and being courageous fighters. My experience in dealing with those people was slightly different. Sure, they are very tough when they post videos on the internet, hidden in a secret place safely behind their mask. But I can tell you this from personal experience as well, it doesn’t take any bravery or courage or anything of the sort to kill another human being, Killing people the way they have isn’t a courageous act, it’s an act of desperation and insanity. I’ve written before about a very large operation that I participated in to try to push them out of their last stronghold in the city we were responsible for. During the fighting they were a tough and fairly capable enemy. They put up a good fight behind their masks, but not good enough. As people were fleeing the area because of the fighting and bombs being dropped they had to pass through a checkpoint to verify that they weren’t enemy fighters. Some were, and some went as far as wearing women’s dresses to try to slip through the checkpoints. It didn’t work, and was a great source of amusement. And almost without exception, when they were captured and couldn’t hide behind their masks, they would cry and wet their pants and beg for their own lives. They were real brave, until they had to answer for their actions.

The problem they have presented the world with is a very serious one. First and foremost I feel that their progress needs to be stopped, unfortunately through the use of deadly force. But the problem is bigger than that. You can’t kill an ideology with bombs. I certainly don’t have all the answers, but I know that we as a nation are not capable of solving this problem on our own.