Yesterday, I was on CBC Syndicated Radio from coast to coast to coast early in the morning to talk about Canada's efforts to block/stymie/defeat Iraq. Why? Because the Minister of Defence was visiting Iraq, and CBC wanted to check in on how we are doing.... and then we have another serious attack that is probably inspired by ISIS in France.
One of the key things that people are saying, and I repeated: that as ISIS loses ground in Iraq, it has/will amp up its terrorist attacks. As it has lost the aura of inevitability, as its caliphate reverts from being territorial to being virtual, ISIS has to deny the gains made by the counter-ISIS coalition by increasing insecurity, by demonstrating that it still has reach and by causing governments to overreact.
Which leads to a second set of timing issues: that the Nice attack happened as Trump was about to announce his VP candidate. In reaction, two of the candidates, the two that are most desperate to prove how awful they are, Newt Gingrich and Mike Flynn, are outbidding each other to fan the flames of xenophobia. The best response to terrorism is ... not to be terrorized, but Gingrich and Flynn seem think that the best response to terrorism is to be scared, to overreact, to engage in collective punishment, to sell out our values, and to alienate the Muslims who actually are the best allies of a counter-ISIS effort.
So, it is a thoroughly depressing morning, not just because of the horror on the streets of Nice, but the disgusting display of craven ambition by two of the least suitable people to lead the GOP or any party into the future.
While I am not a fan of Mike Pence, it could be worse--we are seeing the competition to be the worst live on tv/radio/twitter.
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