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Is history the future? It has been said, “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” But in a strange twist of history in our day, the radical Islamists of Islamic State, or ISIS, have learned their history quite well, and they want to repeat it. And they plan to force everyone else to repeat it as well. What history do they want to repeat?

In response to Russia’s stepped-up air reconnaissance flights and active role in the Ukraine, “The United States on Wednesday placed sanctions on eight Ukrainian separatists and a Russian bank, warning that recent attacks by rebels armed by Russia violated a European-brokered ceasefire in the war-torn country” (Reuters, March 11, 2015).

Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, recently stated, “the EU should establish its own army to show Russia it is serious about defending European values.” During an interview with Die Welt am Sonntag, Juncker said, “Europe has lost a huge amount of respect. In foreign policy too, we don’t seem to be taken entirely seriously.

“The immigrant population of London has more than doubled since 1971 and is on course to account for over half of the capital’s residents within 16 years, analysis by The Times has revealed” (The Times, January 26, 2015). A spokesperson for Migration Watch noted that “On current trends, the UK-born will be in a minority in their own capital within 20 years, despite strong public opposition to mass immigration” (ibid.). 

In response to Russia’s stepped-up air-defense training flights and the reopening of Russian military bases closed since the Cold War, “Norway’s defence minister has said her country’s armed forces will be restructured so they can respond faster to what she called increased Russian aggression” (The Guardian, February 25, 2015).