Motivation to Radicalize: What Drives Radicalization and Extremism

     The causes of radicalization may vary from person to person, but all seem to have a very common ground. Some important parts of radicalization I would like to highlight are not reasons as to why radicalization occurs, but actual reasons as to why people radicalize that may not be true for the majority. I use the information taken from John M. Venhaus's article "Why Youth Join al-Qaeda" and will attempt to expand on some points that he makes that he refers to as the, "Common Myths about al-Qaeda Recruits" (Venhaus pg 4) because I believe, although these points are referring to al-Qaeda radicalization, these points could be applied to many or all forms of radicalization.  Some of the points that I believe could be myths about radicalization would be, "First, he is not crazy." (Venhaus pg 4) I believe that this is something important to keep in mind because not everyone who radicalizes suffer from mental disorders. As I will expand on later, it is my firm belief that those who radicalize are simply trying to find or believe to have found a cause or a new group that accepts them, an acceptance they have not had in a while. It is either that they believe in their cause so much that they will do anything to defend it, such as eco-terrorists, or they have found a welcoming group of people who seem to want to form a kind of family or tight knit group such as some of the al-Qaeda and ISIS tactics seem to be. This surely seems to be one of ISIS's tactics now, by welcoming people, especially those who are Muslim or those who are already part of the Islamic faith, into their caliphate. This transitions into another myth that Venhaus's mentioned stating: "al-Qaeda recruits do not become terrorists because they are Muslim. They actually have an inadequate understanding of their own religion, which makes them vulnerable to misinterpretations of the religious doctrines." (Venhaus pg 5) This is clearly a tactic that ISIS has taken up. ISIS will target those who express their Muslim heritage or their interest to the Islamic faith but have no real education on either. ISIS has used the internet to encourage people wanting to radicalize to first work on getting to one of their compounds in Syria and then teaching them their radical interpretation of Islam.  This allows the groups to maintain much more power. I believe that these points are important to keep in mind because these are major myths that are often tied in with those who radicalize. It is not lunacy or religion that are always the initiating factor of radicalization, but rather it is the possibility that those who radicalize are simply looking for somewhere they belong and, unfortunately, those who contact them are parts of these organizations that direct them down the wrong path.

Who Won the Debate? Who's Asking?

     Wednesday’s Democratic Debate had no clear winner, though it clearly had two losers, Senator Webb and Senator Chafee.  The two frontrunners, Secretary Clinton and Senator Sanders, both gave performances people expected.  Secretary Clinton spoke of her foreign policy experience, commitment to social programs geared toward families and strong gun control stance with the elegance of seasoned politician.  Senator Sanders used his tried and true talking points of 1% excess and greed, support of the working and middle classes, free healthcare and free public college tuition using his same fervor that gathers crowds of thousands for his rallies.

Realpolitik: The Policy of Graveyards

     A phantom is haunting American foreign policy.  This phantom facilitated the unholy collusion of private and public power into a unitary destructive force.  Dozens of nations and thousands of people swept into ruin by the phantom’s haphazard charge toward its ultimate goal of power.  That phantom is Henry Kissinger and his bastard brain child of realpolitik.  Realpolitik is an ideology that tears down the curtain of decency and morality and bring to front stage the raw pursuit of power.  Democracy, transparency and human rights become obstacles to be crushed.  In George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, the character O’Brien, a member of Oceania’s ruling totalitarian party, says, “if you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever.”  Realpolitik is that boot.  Realpolitik seeks only power for power’s sake.  It uses corporations and bureaucracies to build a mountain of innocent bodies to stand on top of, and one builds up the body count better than Henry Kissinger.