Orlando: A Few Thoughts

Donald Trump’s proposals with respect to the attack in Orlando don’t make sense and won’t work, but Donald Trump doesn’t have to make sense.  He reflects our anger, and it’s up to us to try to figure out something workable out of what he says.

President Obama tells us that this was a homegrown attack and that it was not directed by ISIS (also known as Islamic State and, the Administration’s preferred name, ISIL {see here}), as if that is somehow supposed to make us feel better.  Which it doesn’t.  It would have been better if it had been directed by ISIS.  Because then we would have a group to target and a way to end the problem.

But homegrown attacks are a reflection less of ISIS and more of Islamic extremism.  Certainly, ISIS’s successes have encouraged people elsewhere (see San Bernardino), but defeating ISIS won’t end Islamic extremism.  The killings at Ft. Hood were before ISIS.

While we need to work, with others, to defeat ISIS, we also need to address, with our friends and allies, Islamic extremism as a movement and a belief.  Which requires a more thoughtful and nuanced approach than we are seeing from either Mr. Trump or President Obama.  Let us hope our next President can do a better job.