Police arrested a 37-year-old man in connection with the murder of a 34-year-old father of two, who died in hospital on Wednesday. The victim, Yves Smith, was struck in the head with a blunt object around 11 a.m. police said. He died later that day. Police said the altercation happened outside Sandilands Village Road. The murder brought the national murder count up to 136 for the year so far. That figure represents a record.

The previous record was 127, recorded in 2011.

"In order to eradicate a thing you must understand it and the truth is that nobody understands ISIS." - Mutryce A. Williams

This past weekend, I listened intently as former deputy director of the CIA and counterterrorism expert Michael Morell gave his analysis of the Paris France attacks. I listened as Morrell posited that a new strategy for fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is required, as the current strategy to "defeat and degrade" ISIS is "simply not working."

However, when asked what the new strategy ought to be, Morrell's answer was one that I would never forget. His response, an honest and respectable "I do not know." Now one may argue that Morrell, a former deputy director of the CIA, a revered counterterrorism expert ought to have had a long list of solutions or a sound strategy aimed at eradicating ISIS, but he didn't.

The truth, even the most learned and revered counterterrorism expert does not have the answer. The truth no one has the answer, because you can't eradicate ISIS if you don't answer the real question. The real question is "How do you fight an ideology?"

Fear, chaos, and grief were stricken into the hearts and minds of the people of Paris, Europe and the world on Friday, November 13, 2015, when Islamic jihadists carried out a series of coordinated terrorist attacks on the city. The mass casualty attacks claimed 129 lives, 352 persons were injured including 99 who were listed in critical condition.

In that moment, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) which claimed responsibility for the macabre attacks, achieved its objective. Its objective was to kill. Its objective was to annihilate. Its objective was to cause mass carnage, mass carnage of innocent lives. Its objective was not to discriminate. Its objective was to simply terrorize. Its objective was to thumb its nose at "western exceptionalism" and threaten the civil liberties that the west touts. Its objective was to wage holy war or jihad. Its objective was to change the narrative or landscape of the word "terrorism" as we have come to know it.

Contrary to what we may want to believe, or how we may want to perceive the "masterminds" who orchestrate such atrocities they are not a bunch of crazy, delusional, deranged, depraved, ignorant, murderous sociopaths or madmen. They are not the poor destitute "scum" of the earth with nothing better to do with their time, than to go around bombing, killing and terrorizing innocent people. Believing that they are may provide comfort to us, as it is the only way that we may be able to rationalize such senseless acts.

The truth is that they are not and this is the problem. They are highly educated persons with sophisticated thought processes. This may be hard to digest, given the nature of the horrific acts. Our thought processes tell us that only a criminal or a maniacal being can perpetuate such chaos and bloodshed - again this is the problem. It is impossible for us to digest how rational beings could commit such acts, even if it is in the name of religion.

The truth is that the "masterminds" behind these acts come from affluent families. They are learned and calculated. The difference - they are persons with what we may consider an extreme ideology. It is an ideology that they firmly believe in. It is an ideology that they wage jihad for, and an ideology, though "twisted", is worth dying for. They are people who are hell bent on bringing the world to its knees all in the name of the Caliphate.

These are no ordinary terrorists. They are not interested in taking anyone hostage. They are not interested in a ransom or money. They are not asking for the release of prisoners. They are not interested in embarrassing the U.S. or other world leaders. They are not interested in negotiating, so the adage, "We don't negotiate with terrorists" does not apply here.

What they want is nothing tangible. What they want the U.S., France, Russia, Germany or any other superpower can't give. They want the total annihilation of all who they consider "infidels" and as a result the acts won't stop. These attacks were not about making a mere social or political statement. This isn't a simple case of hatred for freedom, liberty or democracy or as many may want us to believe. This isn't mere hatred for all things western. They have waged jihad. This is their holy war. They are calling for the total destruction, not of a particular race, religion, sex or country.

What we are up against is much larger. They are calling for the total destruction of everyone who doesn't share their belief. This is what we are up against. We are at war not with a state or country, but rather we are at war with an ideology. It is an ideology that rests in the hearts and minds of all who swear to it, all who sympathize with it and all who believe in it. This is where the war is. The question: How do you fight such war?

Although we may be comforted by the media and government reports that these radicals are "contained" in the Middle East. This means very little because the attacks in Paris and the bombing of the Russian airliner are evidence that their reach is far. ISIS does not only exist in Iraq, Syria or the Middle East, like Al Qaeda, ISIS has many global cells and sympathizers who support its cause.

ISIS was able to recruit and radicalize individuals who live in the west. It was able orchestrate a catastrophic attack on Western soil. Sadly enough it was able to achieve its objective of instilling fear into the hearts and minds of men. It has gained momentum. It has called others to action.

Contrary to what we may believe ISIS may be the structure, just as Al Qaeda was the structure, Jihadi John may have been for many the face of ISIS, just as Osama Bin Laden was the face of Al Qaeda; while capturing or killing these men may have brought some solace or calmed some fears, the ideology still remains and like a hydra when you chop off one head there are two or three more that will grow in its place. This is the problem with this form or terrorism. We are at war with an ideology. The question, how do you fight or win such a war?

When we find the answer to this question then we can set about eradicating ISIS and this form of radical terrorism. Until then, the attacks will continue. In order to eradicate a "thing" you must understand it and the truth is that nobody understands ISIS.

o Mutryce A. Williams  is a certified homeland protection professional. This column is published with permission from Caribbean News Now.

After a splendid international summer tour in Montreal and Quebec, Canada, the members of Bel Canto went straight to work for this year's "Christmastide". Christmastide has grown into a beloved holiday tradition in New Providence, held annually two nights early in December.

This year's concerts will feature wonderful arrangements of favorite Christmas carols, anthems, and spirituals as well as other seasonal favorites, many of which were arranged for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Over 600 individuals come from all over the island each year to attend the concerts, which the singers present as a gift to the music community.

Bel Canto will be presenting the 2015 Christmastide Gala - for the first time ever at The Old Fort Bay Club on Friday, December 4, at 7:15 p.m. - which includes not only a concert, but also a silent auction as well as wines and gourmet cuisine.

The gala reception and silent auction are the best kept secrets in The Bahamas. A concert-only performance will be held at St. Andrew's, The Kirk, on Saturday, December 5th at 7:30 pm. Gala tickets are $125, and the concert-only performance tickets are $25 respectively.

The concerts are held under the patronage of Governor General Dame Marguerite Pindling. The choir has entered into many collaborations with musicians both at home and internationally, and is pleased to have been sponsored by Burns House - Commonwealth Brewery, partnering for the first time with the Rotary Club of East Nassau, all of whose respective charities will benefit from the proceeds of the Gala evening.

Founder and Director Eldridge L. McPhee said, "For the past 10 years, I have been realizing my vision: to work with individuals, through musical productions, to have an impact on the lives of our members, thereby impacting their communities.

"The mark of a good leader is discipline and after having studied music for some 35 years, I know that talent and discipline create success. This formula is not unique to music."

Bel Canto Singers, through its annual production of Christmastide, has raised more than $90,000 net for charities including The Bahamas AIDS Foundation over the past six Yuletide seasons. The choir said it is pleased to add Burns House, a charity of its choice and the Rotary Club of East Nassau's Scholarship Fund to its list of worthy non-profit organizations that will benefit from the proceeds of the gala night.

McPhee said, "I have seen members of the Bel Canto Singers grow as musicians as well as husbands, wives, partners, and parents. More importantly, I have seen members of this group come to learn and to understand what it means to become points of light in their workplaces, churches, civic organizations, and at play."

The public is invited to attend. For tickets or further information, please write us at info@belcantosingersbahamas.com or call 242.376.2772.

In a dramatic ending that saw the lead change hands three times in the final 20 seconds, Bahamian forward Tavario Miller and the Texas A&M Aggies managed to pull off the 62-61 upset over nationally number 10 ranked Gonzaga to earn a berth in today's championship game of the 2015 Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament. Senior guard Danuel House split a pair of free throws to put the Aggies up one and made the game winning defensive stop on the next end to seal the deal for the Aggies. Miller played nine minutes and pulled down two rebounds and dished out one assist, but didn't score for the second game in a row in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.

House led the way for Texas with 19 points and four rebounds. Tonny Trocha-Morelos chipped in with 14 and Alex Caruso added eight off the bench. Kyle Wiltjer led the way for Gonzaga with 18.

After going 0-for-3 in the first half, Josh Perkins ended the game with 15 points and Przemek Karnowski scored 10 off the bench for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The game was closely contested throughout, as it had 12 ties and seven lead changes. Texas A&M now moves to an undefeated 6-0 on the year while the Bulldogs fell to 3-1. The Aggies will take on Syracuse in the championship game this afternoon at 3:30 p.m.

As for their game with Gonzaga yesterday, the Zags jumped out to a quick 9-2 lead before House responded with a three-pointer for the Aggies. On their next possession, House converted from long distance again, which sparked a mini run and gave the Aggies a 14-12 lead. Late in the first game the game was tied at 32. Trocha-Morelos hit a three at the buzzer that gave the Aggies 35-32 lead at the end of the first half.

Out of the break, Trocha-Morelos' hot shooting continued. He hit back-to-back three-pointers to give the Aggies a 41-34 lead. Perkins kept Gonzaga close with a big second half. The Zags came all the way back, and then Perkins knocked down back-to-back jumpers to put his team ahead 50-48. With less than two minutes remaining in regulation, Caruso hit two free throws to put the Aggies up 61-60. Shortly afterwards, House stepped to the line and knocked down what turned out to be the game-winning free throw.

Texas A&M's coach Billy Kennedy said that the fact that the win was considered an upset by most makes it that much better.

"Obviously it was a really good win. It was two good teams with seniors on it and I was really proud of our guys defensively down the stretch," he said. "Our goal was to hold their three big guys to 30 points or less, and we were able to do that. Danuel came in and was really efficient and offensively we did a lot of things, and had big rebounds at the end. We made free throws and Tonny continues to get better and do great things for us."

Gonzaga will take on the University of Connecticut (UConn) Huskies in the third place game. That game will be played at 12:30 p.m. today.