The Coltons Point Times

Call it inexperience, a lack of historical footing, or a Pollyanna presidency, this is not the first movement by religious zealots to try and conquer the world - and history has shown they can be stopped!

Yesterday Pope Francis condemned the terror attacks on Paris and warned the seeds of World War III have been planted. Today President Obama ignored his warning and said his strategy of remote bombing was working, a claim immediately trashed by experts from the military, and from foreign governments around the world.

Obama, his surrogate Hillary Clinton, and the media all ignored the warning of the Pope. Even worse, they continue to support a policy that has failed to stop ISIS and their terrorist rampage around the globe.

Contrary to popular opinion expressed by our president and his liberal legions and reinforced by the news media, this is not the first time this has happened and if we pay attention to history, we will know our response is dead wrong. In the past millions of people have died because the dangers were ignored.

On multiple occasions, two quite different groups have attempted to use religion to justify genocide and the destruction of freedom and equality on a worldwide scale.

Ironically, both began within 139 years of each other nearly 1,400 years ago in the same region of the world.

Islamic Caliphate

In 1632 AD the great Prophet Mohammed died after establishing Islam, and two sects within his following claimed the right to succession through the establishment of Caliphates, the Sunni Muslims representing 84-90% of all Muslims today, and the Shi`ite Muslims representing 10-16% of all Muslims today.

Some scholars claim the caliphate effectively ended in 1258 when the Mongols, the descendants of Genghis Khan, stormed across the Middle East. But, the Turkish Ottoman empire claimed the caliphate in 1453 and exercised authority over vast parts of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond until the empire withered and ultimately collapsed at the end of World War I.

"The position has been vacant since 1924, when the founder of modern Turkey abolished the office as a remnant of the Ottoman Empire, and bundled the last man to hold it, a bookish Francophile named Abdulmecid Efendi, into exile aboard the Orient Express."

The Holy Roman Empire

In the year 800 AD the Holy Roman Empire was established when Charlemagne, a successful Germanic leader, was crowned Emperor by Pope Leo II in order to protect the church from competition by others in Europe. It was a motley medley of more or less independent kingdoms, lay and ecclesiastical principalities and free cities.

The Holy Roman Empire is also called the First Reich, was always Roman Catholic, and its history was punctuated by often bitter disputes between the Emperor and the Pope, sometimes involving clashing armies. It remained under the control of Germanic leaders for over 1,000 years, until Napoleon and France brought it to an end in 1806.

The Second Reich, or German Empire, was not officially Catholic, was more clearly German, and lasted just a few decades, from 1871 to 1918. There was no claim of global domination, although the Germans had defeated France in 1870 and did build up a set of colonies, though dwarfed by the British Empire.

Thus efforts to control the world by the Caliphates and the Holy Roman Empire for over 1,000 years by combining church and state both came to an end within six years of each other, just as World War I ended in 1918.

Rise of the Third Reich

We all know the story of the unfair Treaty of Versailles to end World War I that virtually destroyed any hope for Germany which faced dire consequences. For the next decade German nationalism was fueled by the punishing treaty and resulted in yet another effort to establish The Holy Roman Empire, better known as The Third Reich.

In the early 1930s, the mood in Germany was grim. The worldwide economic depression had hit the country especially hard, and millions of people were out of work. Still fresh in the minds of many was Germany's humiliating defeat fifteen years earlier during World War I, and Germans lacked confidence in their weak government, known as the Weimar Republic.

These conditions provided the chance for the rise of a new leader, Adolf Hitler, and his party, the National Socialist German Workers' Party, or Nazi party for short. Hitler was a powerful and spellbinding speaker who attracted a wide following of Germans desperate for change. He promised the disenchanted a better life and a new and glorious

Germany

. The Nazis appealed especially to the unemployed, young people, and members of the lower middle class (small store owners, office employees, craftsmen, and farmers).

The party's rise to power was rapid. Before the economic depression struck, the Nazis were practically unknown, winning only 3 percent of the vote to the Reichstag (German parliament) in elections in 1924. In the 1932 elections, the Nazis won 33 percent of the votes, more than any other party. In January 1933 Hitler was appointed chancellor, the head of the German government, and many Germans believed that they had found a savior for their nation.

Key Dates

JUNE 28, 1919
TREATY OF VERSAILLES ENDS WORLD WAR I

In the Treaty of Versailles, which followed German defeat in World War I, the victorious powers (the United States, Great Britain, France, and other allied states) impose severe terms on Germany. Germany, under threat of invasion, is forced to sign the treaty. Among other provisions, Germany accepts responsibility for the war and agrees to make huge payments (known as reparations), limit its military to 100,000 troops, and transfer territory to its neighbors. The terms of the treaty lead to widespread political discontent in Germany. Adolf Hitler gains support by promising to overturn them.

OCTOBER 24, 1929
STOCK MARKET CRASH IN NEW YORK

The plummet in the value of stocks that is associated with the New York stock market crash brings a rash of business bankruptcies. Widespread unemployment occurs in the United States. The "Great Depression," as it is called, sparks a worldwide economic crisis. In Germany, six million are unemployed by June 1932. Economic distress contributes to a meteoric rise in the support for the Nazi party. As a result, the Nazi party wins the votes of almost 40 of the electorate in the Reichstag (German parliament) elections of July 1932. The Nazi party becomes at this point the largest party in the German parliament.

NOVEMBER 6, 1932
NAZIS LOSE SUPPORT IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

In the Reichstag (German parliament) elections of November 1932, the Nazis lose almost two million votes from the previous elections of July. They win only 33 percent of the vote. It seems clear that the Nazis will not gain a majority in democratic elections, and Adolf Hitler agrees to a coalition with conservatives. After months of negotiations, the president of Germany, Paul von Hindenburg, will appoint Hitler chancellor of Germany in a government seemingly dominated by conservatives on January 30, 1933.

As Hitler began his reign of terror under the guise of rebuilding The Holy Roman Empire the next few years, from 1933 until the beginning of 1939, would be the last chance for the world to stop him until World War II ended with his death and the collapse of Japan.

Lessons we failed to learn today

The failure to stop Hitler would result in over 60 million deaths from the war.

Movements like the early Caliphates and the Third Reich were efforts to ignore geopolitical boundaries.

Religions were compromised in order to justify empires that ignored sovereign claims and geographic boundaries.

Substantial lists of enemies of the state or empire identified target population segments for liquidation.

The ISIS Caliphate of today

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has now officially become a global Islamic caliphate. It took 14 months for its leader, who is known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, to set himself up as a ruler “by order of God.” He is not only the “commander of the faithful” now, but also the caliph-at-large, and the “successor” of Prophet Mohammad. The historical declaration took place on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan of the year 1435 AH (2014 AD).

Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, spokesperson for ISIS, declared the creation of the Islamic caliphate, “the jihadis’ long-running dream.” This marks the first time the caliphate has been “restored” by anyone since Ataturk abolished it almost 90 years ago.

According to Salafi clerics, the caliph is required to rule a territory in every sense of the word, and not in a provisional manner. They argue that ISIS staked its claim to the caliphate on the basis that it controls vast swaths of territory, in addition to having funds, an army, and a population under its control, though ISIS did not take into account the fact that each era should have a different concept for what a state should be. Adnani had specified the role of the state as being to release prisoners, appoint governors and judges, collect taxes, and disseminate religious education, among other functions.

Stopping the Rise of the Caliphate

Throughout history, there were several attempts to build Caliphates and the Holy Roman Empire. In each case, force destroyed the movements although the delay in taking swift and decisive action came too late to save millions of people.

Have we learned anything in history? These movements are dedicated to killing their enemy, taking no prisoners, and wiping out the conquered culture. So far, they are well on their way.

Contrary to Obama and his foolish attitude of "containing" ISIS, and the failure to build the worldwide network of nations needed to stop the proliferation of terrorism, there is no end in sight.

Pope Francis warned Obama and the world we are on the verge of World War III and this time the enemy will be terrorism, the almost invisible cancer spreading throughout the western world.

Unlike previous enemies of the USA, ISIS has a reach far beyond the borders where they live and they have demonstrated to Paris, Beirut, and others the power they have to strike fear into the hearts of the world.

Do we have the power to act to protect the world?

If Obama, Clinton, and the media continue to disregard the extent of the threat to our existence and believe we are really on the right track, we will see the face of ISIS in our face and watch as they terrorize us within our borders.

We must demand action before we allow another rise to power of the Dark Side, and millions of people suffer the terrible consequences of our political paralysis. Our military are disgusted at not being able to fight to defend us and rid the world of terrorism.

It is up to our leaders to unleash the incredible power, fury, and righteous rage of the American people so that Syrian refugees can go home and the people of the world can find peace and freedom.

He pulled his piano with a bike up to rue Richard Lenoir ten meters from the Bataclan, the theater last night was the scene of the bloodiest terrorist attacks in Paris. Then he began to play the notes of 'Imagine' by John Lennon. Around the pianist, a small crowd gathered.

A candle with “Pray for Paris” stays between flowers at the gate of the French Embassy following the recent terror attacks in Paris on Nov. 14, 2015 in Berlin. Hundreds of people came throughout the day to lay flowers, candles and messages of condolence to mourn the victims of attacks last night in Paris that left at least 120 people dead across the French capital.

In the wake of the Friday night (Nov. 13) terrorist attack on Paris’ Le Bataclan theater – which claimed at least 128 lives and left 352 people in critical condition – a man set up a piano outside the famed venue Saturday morning to play John Lennon's visionary plea for peace “Imagine.”

The Guardian has captured footage of him playing (his identity is not currently known) while people listen and cry.

Lennon’s 1971 call for peace notably includes the line “and no religion, too,” an especially salient one given that religious extremist group ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attacks.