Allah Akhbar, My Sweet Patootie!

The world has once again been visited by madmen with dreams of virgins and a delusional faith in the inevitability of the return of the caliphate. The human toll among both victims and perpetrators is unfathomable, but is surely less than humane - or rational, or excusable in any way.

We lived the impact on one horrific 9/11, and the residual effects continue to this day, even obliterating the memories of smaller tragedies that passed with little sustained outrage. Other acts of subhumanity by these demented zealots, cheerfuly misled by spiritual "leaders" and self-appointed scholars, some of whom can even read and write, have poisoned parts of Europe and Eurasia. England, Spain, Russia, Turkey - all come to mind.

In the contemporary, imams and mullahs rub their hands together and gleefully jig as they contemplate how to take further advantage of the bloody clown show that the Middle East has deteriorated into, and plot the destruction of the nation of Israel and the extermination of an entire people (if only they could rally enough martyrs to take on Jews determined to survive, succeed, and prosper. They are actively working to pollute the pitiful tide of refugees from Syria and elsewhere, and make them unwitting Trojan horses covering the infection of the West with jihadists.

Not so long ago, we linked arms, held hands, and proclaimed, "Je suis Charlie Hebdo" as an unthinkable outrage was perpetrated upon the French and Paris. Today, we might say, "Ik ben Brussel" or "Je suis Bruxelles" in the same spirit, as the capital of the European Union and a linchpin of NATO, the UN, and the financial Eurozone, crouches in fear, counts its dead and wounded, and contemplates the cancer living within its social organism.

So, politics aside, rhetoric put away upon a shelf, mindless bluster silenced for a moment, I'll risk asking, "When and how do we at long last declare jihad against the jihadists?" What will who do to whom to win, and take the mental defectives who pursue jihad out of the gene pool forever." Enough is enough, and we, collectively, have already had too much from this cohort of lunatics.

Not least of those suffering are the Muslims, those who are being intimidated or slain by ISIS, the Taliban, Boko Haram, whomever seeks power and domination within Islam. My Muslim friends, neighbors, aquaintances, and service providers are aghast. Pretty much like our other American neighbors, they want a job, a decent wage, good achools for their kids, possibilities for home ownership, prospects for advancement, and freedom to speak and worship.

Does all this have day-to-day implications for supply chain management? You betcha! But, rather than rattle on about crippled and dangerous global activity, or prospects for world-wide economic slowdown, I believe it is important to abandon naivete and deal straight up with the root of the challenge.

The path to the top of the mountain is likely to be difficult, unpleasant, challenging to our core values, bloody, and rife with opportunities for sacrifice. But, if we do not undertake the risk and danger, we are sure to court death by staying encamped at the base of the peak, hoping to reaon with, or metaphorically bribe our way through the tough people and the tough times involved.

It's a fight against a form of cancer. Praying is likely useful, but is suboptimal without: surgery, chemotherapy, radiation treatment, immunotherapy, appropriate diet, exercise and fitness. Praying takes many forms, and is expressed in different ways by different faith traditions and individual practitioners.

A plus? It is relatively easy. The other weapons are not a bit easy, and can be life-threatening on their own. But, guess what is necessary and prudent in the war against a soul-less foe? You're right: All of them.