Ken Gude: Anti-Muslim sentiment is a serious threat to American security

  The incredible barbarism perpetrated by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS, too often dissuades those in the West from any meaningful assessment of the group’s strategy and tactics. From beheading or burning alive captives to slaughtering entire minority populations and gunning down innocent civilians in previously quiet streets, the violence is incomprehensible and thus can appear devoid of reason or planning. That is far from the truth. ISIS has been very clear about its objectives. It uses violence to achieve its goals, including to spread fear and induce governments and the public to make choices they otherwise would not; to mobilize its supporters with demonstrations of its capabilities; and, most importantly, to provoke an anti-Muslim backlash to help it attract new followers and prepare for a clash of civilizations. The ignorance of most in Western society to ISIS’s clear and openly described objectives is providing the necessary fuel for their continued growth and momentum.

Hank Sanders: Senate Sketches #1485: The power of fear

  Fear is powerful. Fear changes what we see. Fear changes what we hear. Fear changes what we perceive. Fear changes what we feel. Fear changes things.

  Fear is powerful. Fear changes what we do. Fear changes what we don’t do. Fear warps our judgment. Fear slows our actions. Fear speeds up our actions. Fear changes things.

  Fear is powerful. Fear makes us see what is not there. Fear blinds us to what is there. Fear enlarges that which is bad. Fear contracts that which is good. Fear changes everything.