Issues Under Fire: ISIS Has Mutated Into A Virus, Must Be Fought Like One

Issues Under Fire: ISIS Has Mutated Into A Virus, Must Be Fought Like One 

Radicalized Australian teen, leads cheers of ISIS forces, as he delivers tirade against the West. Three young girls played hooky from their Denver Colorado high school, to join ISIS/ISIL in Syria. Answering ISIS/ISIL's call to commit acts of violence against Western interest worldwide, Canada has seen an unprecedented uptick in attacks against its military personnel. These are the eye-opening headlines from this week alone. 

Radical Islam is spreading like a virus. Unfortunately, the West is still confronting it like an army. Air strikes, retraining the Iraqi army and arming the Syrian rebels will only be counterproductive at this stage of the conflict. That is not say, any of the aforementioned was ever the solution. This is now a war of the mind and the West is losing. To lose this war of the mind, is to damn the futures of our youth.  

ISIS/ ISIL is attacking the weakened "social" immune system of Western youth. If Western youth had more to look forward to than perpetual war, unstable economies, high unemployment, debt, omnipresent government surveillance, poverty, income inequality and a general sense of hopelessness, they'd be immune to efforts by those who'd infect their minds with radical options.  

When approached by a radical recruiter offering a new way of life and something to believe in, having nothing to justify their current existence, a young impressionable mind is left wide open to just about any suggestion. If Western youth see their world as failing them, the idea of playing an important role in building a new one can sink in. With promises of food, lodging, a weekly stipend, a plan to follow, a mission to complete and a purpose in life, the West had better find something to counter with. 

Bottom line:. You can escalate from pinpoint air strikes to carpet bombing and never contain or control this global threat. ISIS/ISIL can now breach borders like a disease. The United States and Europe have already become breeding grounds and incubation spaces for the expansion of radical Islamic ideology. Since each newly infected carrier will be instructed to share the "word", there's no telling how far and fast the problem will spread.

Less of a military threat and more of a viral infection of the mind, the West must develop an antidote to the ISIS/ISIL contagion. The only cure for young, uninspired and idle minds is something positive, challenging and financially rewarding to look forward to. While this assessment is no solution to the beheadings in the new Islamic State, it will reduce the probability of another beheading in the United Kingdom. Podcast Below!