There's Nothing so Bad that no Good may Come of It

Descartes, the French philosopher's statement that goes something like, "There's nothing so good that no bad may come of it and nothing so bad that no good may come of it."

In real life this statement mostly has never failed me and at least in a material sense this appears to be the way things really are.

So, when I look at the New Caliph of the Islamic State I start to think this way because of Saddam Hussein and Arafat. When Arafat started out he was a terrorist. But, he was very smart and over time he started the PLO and won eventually as a much older man the Nobel Peace Prize as a world leader.

So, I suppose it is possible that the new Caliph Baghdadi (or whatever he calls himself now) could wind up being a lot like a Saddam Hussein or an Arafat over time and stop being so brutal and take care of his Sunni people (and anyone else loyal to him) and become a politician rather than a terrorist and a warlord.

In fact, Saddam Hussein and Moamar Qadhaffi of Libya started out pretty much the same way as an officer in the army and both them them terrorized a whole lot of people until people just got fed up with them and killed them. Arafat likely was poisoned by nuclear waste too by someone or some government.

However, if he doesn't die by Predator drone or by a bomb or by an assassin then it is possible over time the Caliph could be another Arafat, or Saddam Hussein type of character only likely smarter because this guy has a PHd in Islamic Studies.


We also know this guy is an incredible deal maker because all terrorists have to be to stay alive and profitable.

This guy made deals with Assad who knew he couldn't defeat Baghdadi. So, he gave Baghdadi oil wells and land in a deal so he would fight with more moderate less extreme Syrian rebels to get them off Assad's back in Syria. Then he ran these oil wells to make gasoline and diesel to make his blitzkrieg across Syria and Iraq more effective (even though U.S. helicopter pilots blew up one of these fuel convoys as it entered Iraq from Syria).

Now he has oil wells and land surrounding the Euphrates River from Turkey to  Baghdad (not Baghdad itself though). The river runs through Syria and Iraq past Baghdad if I remember my geography.

So, we know he is a deal maker which is how he parlayed his wealth in soldiers and weapons into a nation state and an army which is growing now from age 10 to whatever person can hold and fire a Kalishnikov rifle.

So, what happens next? This is the big question.

Will the Caliph (Baghdadi) go out in a blaze of glory or will he turn into an Arafat or a Saddam Hussein?

It remains to be seen. Hopefully, he doesn't turn into a long lasting middle eastern Hitler with millions of people dying all around him who aren't extreme enough for him to allow them to live.