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| Terror Networks |
| What ISIS Really Wants |
| 2015-02-17 |
| The Islamic State, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), follows a distinctive variety of Islam whose beliefs about the path to the Day of Judgment matter to its strategy, and can help the West know its enemy and predict its behavior. Its rise to power is less like the triumph of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt (a group whose leaders the Islamic State considers apostates) than like the realization of a dystopian alternate reality in which David Koresh or Jim Jones survived to wield absolute power over not just a few hundred people, but some 8 million. But why must they be so brutal? Modern day tyrants use tools such as victimization, class warfare, free food, and distillation of national sovereignty. |
| Posted by:Thrulet Hupaviter7787 |
| #6 social-media posts from the region suggest that individual executions happen more or less continually, and mass executions every few weeks. Muslim “apostates” are the most common victims. Exempted from automatic execution, it appears, are Christians who do not resist their new government. It appears that all are not following al-Baghdadi's directive about exempting Christians. The fact that the so-called caliphate endorses human burning, enslavement, taking of enemy's wives and children as concubines, beheadings, mass killings cannot be tolerated and has to be defeated. The mistake was made with Hitler to not take what he said seriously. Similarly, Stalin was not considered an enemy before it was almost too late. ISIS with all of its apocalyptic notions has to be taken extremely seriously. Washington needs to get off the dime, get smart, and put together a long-term strategy for dealing with this modern day 7th century menace. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2015-02-17 19:06 |
| #5 "But why must they be so brutal?" I'm sure that is rhettorical but, the brutality is a recruiting method that is working well to draw in the psychopath/shame element of their culture. It might possible help the West in the long run if the worst psycho's respond to the call. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2015-02-17 15:04 |
| #4 Who gives a $hit about what they believe. Look at their deeds and you will know what they believe in--mass beheadings, burning people alive, bullets to the head and supremacy over us. Basically, they are cowards and they kill the innocents who are shackled. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2015-02-17 09:04 |
| #3 They're crazy---just like "Cognitive Elites" running the West are crazy. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2015-02-17 04:26 |
| #2 Hey! Stop giving Obola any new ideas, let him stick with the race card and his school lunch program. |
| Posted by: Steven 2015-02-17 03:50 |
| #1 They want to precipitate the return of the 12th Imam. Whether you are Sunni or Shia, they have stood the book of Revelation on its head by proposing that by creating chaos they can force the Imam to return, instead of the conversion of the entire population of the world. |
| Posted by: Mystic 2015-02-17 01:26 |