No amount of military action can solve our self created "problems" in the Middle East.

[jonthebru]

The Militant Islamists are an intelligent adversary. They can read and watch news channels as the United States Of America telegraphs its intentions. Patiently they will prepare for the opportunity to strike. The United States will respond, in the way it knows, by spending frickin' tons of borrowed money to counter attacks on the flimsy "government" that has been set up by our agencies.
The American citizenry are frankly, tired of it. Confidence in our leadership is at an all time low. The anti-government forces in our own country have largely succeeded in undermining confidence in our government. Their propaganda and disinformation campaign hidden within their cross wielding manner has effectively driven educated patriotic Americans toward opinions that the "Government" is the main problem to the point that systems that we need and are important to our Democracy are disliked and even hated. Its a sickness that is pervasive.
Pay your taxes, mail at least one letter a week. Support the "safety net" for the unfortunate among us.
In the United States, the top 1% own more than 36% of the national wealth and more than the combined wealth of the bottom 95%. Let those figures set in. Frankly, disgustingly, amazing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/17/world/middleeast/string-of-car-bombs-kill-dozens-in-iraq.html?_r=0

http://truth-out.org/news/item/16965-global-power-project-part-1-exposing-the-transnational-capitalist-class

Stay calm and plant a garden.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

1. Sledgehammer vs fleas.

[truebluegreen]

2. Bloated military--and national security apparatus--trying to justify its existence.

Bane of our existence.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

3. "The shepherd always tries to persuade the sheep that their interests and his own are the same."

Marie Beyle - (Schopenhauer)

[truebluegreen]

4. Got it in one.

[snappyturtle]

5. As long as people stayed afeared of every boogeyman the gov't puts forth

the gov't will never cease to feed its gluttonous child the MIC.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

6. Not exactly true. Military action to transfer every officer in the Pentagon to the Middle-East and

out of the comfort of the D.C. area could work wonders.

Close down the Pentagon until the Middle-East problems are resolved.

[duhneece]

7. It's time (way past time) for creative new solutions

What if we dropped hundreds of thousands of photo-taking, video-taking 'smart' phones, so many that every Syrian, every Afghani, every Congolese could take pictures of the abuse they're able to witness and could post it for the world, and their neighbors to see?

What if we dropped video surveillance equipment that could be used to record when they weren't there in person to record it?

Too expensive one says? Never more expensive than bombers and drones and torturers coming home with PTSD.