Althouse: "The Islamic State’s history shows that when the group establishes a stable presence, it’s only a matter of time before it looks to wreak havoc around the world."

December 28, 2025

"The Islamic State’s history shows that when the group establishes a stable presence, it’s only a matter of time before it looks to wreak havoc around the world."

"It’s tempting to want to pretend that the chaos in West Africa isn’t an American problem, but the world isn’t that simple...."

Writes the Washington Post Editorial Board, in "Why West Africa is worth worrying about/Strikes on ISIS targets in Nigeria are welcome but insufficient" (gift link).

71 comments:

rehajm said...: …that pesky rid the world of infidels part…; 12/28/25, 7:04 AM
rehajm said...: when I was a kid the Carolina Baptists had contempt for the Jews and Catholics but they just prayed more…; 12/28/25, 7:06 AM
RCOCEAN II said...: I thought Trump was going to be "America First" but it seems he's just another neo-con. Somebody once said - no matter who we vote for we get John McCain. And that seems about right.

Sorry for what happening in "West Africa" - but as Pence would say "Not our concern". And even it was, I don't think bombs are the answer.; 12/28/25, 7:07 AM
RCOCEAN II said...: Is Miss Lindsey still in Israel on vacation? If so, he missed a chance to go on camera and gush about how much he loved Trump killing foreigners in Africa.

OMG, what a thrill for the warmongers. Remember somalia? Gosh that was so great when we intervened there. Ended up so well for us.; 12/28/25, 7:11 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: Which raises the question why are democrats so hellbent on importing, protecting and teaching advanced fraud schemes to a theocratic death cult? It's a puzzler!; 12/28/25, 7:14 AM
FormerLawClerk said...: This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.; 12/28/25, 7:14 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: Just like the Nazis teamed up with the Muslim Brotherhood in WW2 the Islamist colonizers team up with progressives worldwide because they share the common goals of destroying our Constitutional Republic and and modern liberal society.; 12/28/25, 7:18 AM
narciso said...: Why did the Bezos show no interest before, they were pursuing orange man i got it; 12/28/25, 7:19 AM
narciso said...: They havent acted like it it a concern, so i dont believe them; 12/28/25, 7:24 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: You really have to define being a neocon downwards to reach the level where targeted strikes on known terrorists done in cooperation with the local government is considered "nation building." My preference is "blow them to hell over there" over "let's let in 1000s of jihadists unvetted and see what happens." But YMMV.; 12/28/25, 7:27 AM
narciso said...: As i pointed there is a method to this gangs madness history repeats with the sokoto adamawa empires; 12/28/25, 7:31 AM
narciso said...: There is a reasonablw question of what replaced the power vaccuum in the region is the african union up to it; 12/28/25, 7:35 AM
baghdadbob said...: Brigitte Bardot wrote one last editorial before passing?; 12/28/25, 7:42 AM
narciso said...: They arent self aware enough for that; 12/28/25, 7:44 AM
Peachy said...: Islam is for male losers with small dicks.; 12/28/25, 7:47 AM
Jaq said...: Washington Post? The CIA newsletter?; 12/28/25, 7:49 AM
narciso said...: We are certainly back to the time before the colonization of west africa; 12/28/25, 7:51 AM
narciso said...: So there is a choice involved; 12/28/25, 7:58 AM
Peachy said...: Mike Wolff said:
"Just like the Nazis teamed up with the Muslim Brotherhood in WW2 the Islamist colonizers team up with progressives worldwide because they share the common goals of destroying our Constitutional Republic and and modern liberal society."

worth a big hearty bold.; 12/28/25, 8:01 AM
Smilin' Jack said...: This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.; 12/28/25, 8:04 AM
gspencer said...: One of life's constants - No matter where in the world, no matter when in time, find Muslims, find trouble.; 12/28/25, 8:06 AM
Joe Bar said...: As usual, the comments over there are LIT! Now, they are accusing the WaPo Ed Board of being Bezos toadies (to use Bari Weis's words.)

It is far past time to fight Islam,; 12/28/25, 8:10 AM
narciso said...: Gigo youre not going to get good responses from them; 12/28/25, 8:11 AM
Breezy said...: Perhaps the recent videos of literal armies of Islamic men frequently praying in our US streets has frightened WaPo into realizing, finally seeing, what is building before our eyes, and none of us is immune to it.

Those videos scare me, that’s for sure.; 12/28/25, 8:39 AM
Ann Althouse said...: I deleted Formerlawclerk because it was trolling. Judged by me to be what I call bad faith.; 12/28/25, 8:49 AM
Paul said...: Better go look in your back yard.. I bet there is a mosque (Islamic church) somewhere near by..; 12/28/25, 9:10 AM
Wince said...: I'd like to know what was targeted in the strikes. I sense that Trump believes in the absence of strategic targets, threat of decapitation strikes against leadership is the way to change longer-term behavior of sub-national threats. And that threats need to be backed-up by decisive action.; 12/28/25, 9:26 AM
JAORE said...: When the WaPo Editorial Board notices something the left wants to keep invisible I have two, competing thoughts. First, HOORAY they are finally opening their eyes. Or, secondly, OH CRAP it must be (at least close to) too late.; 12/28/25, 9:31 AM
Smilin' Jack said...: “Ann Althouse said...
I deleted Formerlawclerk because it was trolling. Judged by me to be what I call bad faith.”

Hey, you deleted me too! Don’t I get some credit?; 12/28/25, 9:36 AM
Bob Boyd said...: Trump has never been an isolationist. He was characterized as such by his detractors from the beginning, but he never was one.
Clearly Trump has no problem blowing up bad guys. He doesn't seem interested in nation-building. He just wants to build up one nation, his nation, the USA. That means furthering US interests all over the world via carrot or stick.
Nigeria has a lot of valuable natural resources. We are competition with China there and in Africa generally. I think Trump believes it is better for the USA if the place isn't run by Islamists and if it has a government run by, or at least dominated by, people well disposed towards the US and the West.
Defending Christians also helps Trump politically at home with a very large voting block.; 12/28/25, 9:38 AM
Kirk Parker said...: Smilin'Jack,

That's the difference between speaking and bad faith, and speaking the unspeakable.; 12/28/25, 9:40 AM
Kirk Parker said...: Speaking IN bad faith...; 12/28/25, 9:42 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "Hey, you deleted me too! Don’t I get some credit?"

You did the same thing so I had to take you out too. Please don't do that on my blog. It is disrespectful to me to use my place to advocate what you did.; 12/28/25, 9:50 AM
Rusty said...: gspencer said...
"One of life's constants - No matter where in the world, no matter when in time, find Muslims, find trouble."

Not find. Cause. Cause trouble. It's baked into the cult.; 12/28/25, 10:05 AM
boatbuilder said...: I'm inclined to agree with MJB Wolf and Bob Boyd.
But the WaPo getting on board is troubling.; 12/28/25, 10:06 AM
tommyesq said...: A big problem is when you combine Islamism with a low-trust culture where fraud is accepted (e.g., Somalians) and let them take over chunks of your country.; 12/28/25, 10:08 AM
Achilles said...: RCOCEAN II said...

OMG, what a thrill for the warmongers. Remember somalia? Gosh that was so great when we intervened there. Ended up so well for us.

There are uses for the US military that if it is used properly would have positive benefits for the US.

Killing rampaging uncontrolled Muslims who are wiping out Christians in an oil rich country could be one of those uses.

This requires strategy and execution which is a tall order for the Pentagon.

I am skeptical but if they actually stabilize a government that is willing to suppress their Muslim population and get the oil wells running again then it would be worth it. Especially if we get a cut.; 12/28/25, 10:09 AM
narciso said...: They published khashoggi who was all for these scorpions they did fire attiah that was an improvement; 12/28/25, 10:14 AM
tommyesq said...: If you were one of the folks shouting that we need to do something to protect all the innocent Palestinians from Israeli violence, while at the same time decrying our providing assistance to Nigeria in defending Nigerian Christians from ISIL attacks, you might ask yourself if the skin tone of the victims is influencing your thought process.; 12/28/25, 10:14 AM
narciso said...: They werent serious they only cared about killing jews; 12/28/25, 10:20 AM
Wince said...: "...history shows that when the group establishes a stable presence, it’s only a matter of time before it looks to wreak havoc..."

Okay, WaPo, now cover Walz's Minnesota.; 12/28/25, 10:36 AM
narciso said...: The no 1 recruitment site for islamic state, in this country; 12/28/25, 10:42 AM
john mosby said...: WaPo: ""...history shows that when the group establishes a stable presence, it’s only a matter of time before it looks to wreak havoc..."

History shows again and again/How Nature points out the folly of man.../TRUMPZILLA! CC, JSM; 12/28/25, 11:08 AM
Mr. T. said...: Meanwhile it was awash across the nation's corrupt, out of control university campuses, and the Wash(it)Post jumped up and down, clapping with hateful glee...; 12/28/25, 11:29 AM
Mr. T. said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/28/25, 11:29 AM
Mr. T. said...: narciso said...
"They werent serious they only cared about killing jews
The no 1 recruitment site for islamic state, in this country"

The Wash(it)Post doth love itself those "austere scholars..."; 12/28/25, 11:33 AM
Rabel said...: "I deleted Formerlawclerk because it was trolling."

Thank you.; 12/28/25, 12:31 PM
Achilles said...: Kirk Parker said...

Smilin'Jack,

That's the difference between speaking and bad faith, and speaking the unspeakable.

I missed the conversation but I have guesses.

The problem with Muslims comes when you put them in the wrong type of country.

They have to be suppressed. When they are managed properly you end up with some pretty cool places to live. But they will never do well in a free or democratic country. And the more freedom they get the more damage they do to the world.

The mistake the United States made was taking out leaders that were successfully suppressing their Muslims and thinking we could give them freedom and they would do well. If the government in Niger wants to suppress their Muslims and they need some help we could provide that pursuant to deals with the United States that make our investment profitable.

Hamas is an example of something else. They turned the people of Palestine into demons.; 12/28/25, 12:32 PM
Aggie said...: One cannot fully appreciate Islam as a kafir, but when living as one in a Muslim country, one does get a fuller appreciation of what those societies mean, in terms of western civilization. It means they cannot coexist. Western societies have value systems that allow them to trust each other to an extent that allows the exchange of cultural and religious ideas, in addition to commerce. Not so with Islamic cultures, when they meet the West.

You're not going to change their mind. They are not interested in getting along peacefully. Their political and social hierarchy is predicated on Islam, and on conquest. All of their leaders attain their positions on the premise of domination.; 12/28/25, 1:38 PM
Narr said...: "The West is a bitch to be fucked."

That's the Islamic message and plan in a nutshell. Only fools think differently.; 12/28/25, 1:46 PM
Immanuel Rant said...: "Why West Africa is worth worrying about/Strikes on ISIS targets in Nigeria are welcome but insufficient"

So I cannot understand whether Trump is wrong for ordering strikes or wrong because the strikes are "welcome," but not enough.

Those are our only 2 choices.; 12/28/25, 2:22 PM
Peachy said...: the USA - under Walzian corruption - and hack Soviet Democratic Maddow-Soviet press - is non-trust.; 12/28/25, 2:28 PM
narciso said...: Well we would be considered the house of war whereas the latter the house of islam; 12/28/25, 3:03 PM
narciso said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/28/25, 3:12 PM
narciso said...: Southwest chad northern nigeria; 12/28/25, 3:23 PM
Kirk Parker said...: Achilles,

I'm curious as to which aspect Althouse finds more objectionable - - Smilin' Jack's proposed method, or the end result?; 12/28/25, 3:37 PM
Kakistocracy said...: Only Nigerians can solve Nigeria’s problems because Nigerians are the root cause of Nigeria’s problems -- from Yahoo-Yahoo boys to area boys, from Oil thieves to corrupt officials (at all levels of society) crime pays in Nigeria. The honest are deemed mugs. Their best and brightest have only one option -- emigration.

Not sure where the large scale social reform needed in the country would even begin.; 12/28/25, 3:52 PM
Vance said...: Let's look at this from a religious perspective. We are engaged in a battle of religious warfare, between radical Islam on one side and Christianity/Judaism on another side, with the Atheists as a third side and the various other faiths (hindu, Jainism, Buddism, etc) as a fourth, largely disengaged side.

Who will win? And who should win? Jesus said "by their fruits ye shall know them" and glancing at the fruits of these various faiths it's clear that Judaism/Christianity is by far the best out of those broad choices.

Christianity has dealt with this before; the Aztecs were worse than Islam. There, it was clear that for all of Cortez' faults, God was on his side and wiping that culture off the planet, and good riddance.

Islam is a bit more nuanced. Certainly, God frequently used wicked, pagan nations in the Old Testament as a scourge to get His people to repent. Is He using Islam the same way now?; 12/28/25, 4:03 PM
RCOCEAN II said...: "Killing rampaging uncontrolled Muslims who are wiping out Christians in an oil rich country could be one of those uses."

Given we have defacto open borders, dont be surprised if there's some blowback. There are a lot of bad things going on in the world, and I'm not interested in killing people for Jesus.; 12/28/25, 4:28 PM
RCOCEAN II said...: I don't the muslim hate. If Africa is violent its not because of Islam.; 12/28/25, 4:29 PM
Narr said...: Most of the atheists I read or listen to are solidly on the Judeo-Christian/Western side. Because most atheists aren't morons.; 12/28/25, 4:30 PM
Sebastian said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/28/25, 4:42 PM
Sebastian said...: "The Islamic State’s history shows that when the group establishes a stable presence, it’s only a matter of time before it looks to wreak havoc around the world." Editing needed: "Islamic history shows that when the group establishes a stable presence, it’s only a matter of time before it looks to wreak havoc around the world."; 12/28/25, 4:43 PM
tommyesq said...: I don't the muslim hate. If Africa is violent its not because of Islam.

Africa is an enormous continent full of myriad countries, cultures, and tribes. Muslims occupy a pretty big chunk - currently about 50% of Africans are Muslim. While Muslims are certainly not the only problem, they are certainly a big part of it.; 12/28/25, 5:10 PM
Kirk Parker said...: tommyesq,

Muslims are 100% of the problem, provided you define the problem as "affecting the world". The stuff happening in Congo and Central Africa or in South Africa, bad as it is, isn't a precursor to the Congolese or the S'Africans launching attacks elsewhere.; 12/28/25, 5:31 PM
narciso said...: well theres always the UN. I snorfle,; 12/28/25, 5:37 PM
Lazarus said...: How does the talk about religions and civilizations already at war fit in with the Abraham Accords?; 12/28/25, 6:40 PM
narciso said...: The gulf states sans qatar are trying to proscribe the brotherhood; 12/28/25, 6:58 PM
Achilles said...: Kirk Parker said...

Achilles,

I'm curious as to which aspect Althouse finds more objectionable - - Smilin' Jack's proposed method, or the end result?

Hard to say. I have said before what I think should happen to every male over the age of 17 in Afghanistan. You can quibble over the age plus or minus but child rape is the national pass time in that country. Instead we decided to replace the taliban with the taliban because people just don't want to deal with the world as it actually is.; 12/28/25, 10:50 PM
Achilles said...: Kirk Parker said...

tommyesq,

Muslims are 100% of the problem, provided you define the problem as "affecting the world". The stuff happening in Congo and Central Africa or in South Africa, bad as it is, isn't a precursor to the Congolese or the S'Africans launching attacks elsewhere.

I think the Davos crowd is worse than the Muslims.; 12/28/25, 10:51 PM
Kirk Parker said...: Achilles,

For us in the west, you are absolutely correct. But I was thinking about, and responding to, something about Central Africa. And there, the islamists are already doing the sort of things that are for the most part distant fears to us. (And yes, of course I have read *The Attack* by Schlichter); 12/28/25, 11:43 PM