Anyone who reads this blog often already knows my opinion of CNN "political commentator" Sally Kohn. Here is a woman who is more like a list of Democrat talking points with a mouth than a human being. Nothing is ever the fault of president Obama and his administration, but a great many things are the fault of the United States of America. Today, Kohn is blaming Islamic terrorism on the USA. According to Kohn, George W. Bush created ISIS when he invaded Iraq and the Islamic terrorists (my word, not hers -- she would never call anyone an "Islamic terrorist") act in response to the violence America inflicts on their fellow Moslems.
When Kohn writes, I am never certain how much of what she says she actually believes. Often, she strays from the true facts, but I cannot tell if she is just misinformed, overly ideological, or just a pathological liar. In today's column, however, Kohn outdoes herself. She speaks, for instance, of villagers in Afghanistan who are provoked by American violence to respond in kind. For Kohn, it is as if history and reality do not exist. Thirty-five years ago, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. The United States under Ronald Reagan helped the Afghan people resist the invader by giving them supplies, but we played no role in the actual fighting. After the Soviets were expelled from Afghanistan, we had essentially no involvement there. There was no violence coming from America. Then came 9-11 when terrorists trained in Afghanistan and supported by the Taliban government launched the greatest attack ever by a foreign group on the USA. Over 3000 people died. And guess what Sally -- it was not in response to any violence or other action on our part. In response, America sent a few thousand troops to Afghanistan to help the Northern Alliance topple the Taliban government. There was no wholesale bombing, no great number of civilian casualties. Indeed, what the US did at the time was mostly focused on the bases of the very terrorists who had killed so many of our countrymen. Then American fighting in Afghanistan petered out. Eight years later, president Obama decided that he would ramp up what he called the "good war" and finally beat the Taliban once and for all. Obama, not Bush, upped the number of Americans in the country in a major fashion. Obama ordered many more attacks across Afghanistan. Then, after making headway against the Taliban, Obama ordered the military to withdraw before the job was completed. Whatever terrorism comes from Afghanistan is the result of Obama's refusal to finish what he started, not a response to American violence.
But what of ISIS? It was not born of anything that happened in Iraq or Syria. ISIS is a manifestation of the long standing strain of Islam which follows literally certain verses of the Koran and the words of the prophet Mohammed. It has been many centuries during which one Islamic group or another has sought to "purify" the world by ridding it of the non-believers. In the late 19th century, a huge Arab force called the Mahdi Army attacked the British in Sudan in an effort to do just that. It goes without saying that this was not the result of American "violence". Further, ISIS did not arise due to the invasion of Iraq. ISIS is an offshoot of al Qaeda in Iraq, but that group was defeated during the Iraq War. Indeed, the remnants left Iraq and fled to Syria. When the Syrian dictator Assad decided to start the wholesale slaughter of his own people to stop protests that had arisen against his regime during the so-called Arab Spring, the rebellion left large parts of Sunni Syria without the control of the government. ISIS jumped into that void and organized itself into a fighting force. President Obama knew that this had happened, but did nothing. Indeed, Obama did nothing to strengthen the Iraqis against any attack by ISIS. Obama took all US forces out of Iraq when leaving a small force of 20,000 or so soldiers would have prevented the conquest of much of Iraq by ISIS. And when ISIS did attack in Iraq, it was not because of American violence. There weren't even any American forces in that country aside from at the American embassy in Baghdad. But ISIS made heavy use of terrorism. Kohn, of course, ignores that this terrorism predates any American response. It took videos of beheadings by ISIS to get Obama to finally take some minimal actions against ISIS. Again, ISIS was using terrorism before there was American "violence".
The reality here is that Sally Kohn is just plain wrong. Nevertheless, she spouts this garbage because it allows her to do what she really wants to do: blame America. No matter what the problem, it's always our fault. CNN should be ashamed to publish the garbage this woman puts out.
When Kohn writes, I am never certain how much of what she says she actually believes. Often, she strays from the true facts, but I cannot tell if she is just misinformed, overly ideological, or just a pathological liar. In today's column, however, Kohn outdoes herself. She speaks, for instance, of villagers in Afghanistan who are provoked by American violence to respond in kind. For Kohn, it is as if history and reality do not exist. Thirty-five years ago, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. The United States under Ronald Reagan helped the Afghan people resist the invader by giving them supplies, but we played no role in the actual fighting. After the Soviets were expelled from Afghanistan, we had essentially no involvement there. There was no violence coming from America. Then came 9-11 when terrorists trained in Afghanistan and supported by the Taliban government launched the greatest attack ever by a foreign group on the USA. Over 3000 people died. And guess what Sally -- it was not in response to any violence or other action on our part. In response, America sent a few thousand troops to Afghanistan to help the Northern Alliance topple the Taliban government. There was no wholesale bombing, no great number of civilian casualties. Indeed, what the US did at the time was mostly focused on the bases of the very terrorists who had killed so many of our countrymen. Then American fighting in Afghanistan petered out. Eight years later, president Obama decided that he would ramp up what he called the "good war" and finally beat the Taliban once and for all. Obama, not Bush, upped the number of Americans in the country in a major fashion. Obama ordered many more attacks across Afghanistan. Then, after making headway against the Taliban, Obama ordered the military to withdraw before the job was completed. Whatever terrorism comes from Afghanistan is the result of Obama's refusal to finish what he started, not a response to American violence.
But what of ISIS? It was not born of anything that happened in Iraq or Syria. ISIS is a manifestation of the long standing strain of Islam which follows literally certain verses of the Koran and the words of the prophet Mohammed. It has been many centuries during which one Islamic group or another has sought to "purify" the world by ridding it of the non-believers. In the late 19th century, a huge Arab force called the Mahdi Army attacked the British in Sudan in an effort to do just that. It goes without saying that this was not the result of American "violence". Further, ISIS did not arise due to the invasion of Iraq. ISIS is an offshoot of al Qaeda in Iraq, but that group was defeated during the Iraq War. Indeed, the remnants left Iraq and fled to Syria. When the Syrian dictator Assad decided to start the wholesale slaughter of his own people to stop protests that had arisen against his regime during the so-called Arab Spring, the rebellion left large parts of Sunni Syria without the control of the government. ISIS jumped into that void and organized itself into a fighting force. President Obama knew that this had happened, but did nothing. Indeed, Obama did nothing to strengthen the Iraqis against any attack by ISIS. Obama took all US forces out of Iraq when leaving a small force of 20,000 or so soldiers would have prevented the conquest of much of Iraq by ISIS. And when ISIS did attack in Iraq, it was not because of American violence. There weren't even any American forces in that country aside from at the American embassy in Baghdad. But ISIS made heavy use of terrorism. Kohn, of course, ignores that this terrorism predates any American response. It took videos of beheadings by ISIS to get Obama to finally take some minimal actions against ISIS. Again, ISIS was using terrorism before there was American "violence".
The reality here is that Sally Kohn is just plain wrong. Nevertheless, she spouts this garbage because it allows her to do what she really wants to do: blame America. No matter what the problem, it's always our fault. CNN should be ashamed to publish the garbage this woman puts out.
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