The Islamic state

[Flavour]

Great news. Onwards to raqqa! Hopefully as news trickles through the area well see lots of desertion from ISIS ranks as the jonny come latelys start to get a sense of perspective

 

[kebabking]

Bit of a waste using them on soft skinned vehicles but very effective and obviously a great morale booster, NATO isn't worried about supplying AT as I doubt we will ever have any armour in the area again, different matter re; SA.

a launch point and 3 missile tubes will fit in a car boot - 3 days drive from the Turkisk/Syrian border and they'll be at Heathrow...

we started using them against dug in positions during the Falklands war - not much Argentine armour about, but lots of well dug in machine-gun pits. Treasury went mental when they realised they cost £45k a pop in early 1980's prices, but they get the job done quickly.

 

[Red Storm]

 

[DotCommunist]

half a year flinching at every bang and burying people who didn't duck quick enough. Half a year living in a bombed out region snatching sleep and rations then getting back up again and trying to run a civil life at the same time. I can't even begin to imagine how hard that is.

 

[likesfish]

a launch point and 3 missile tubes will fit in a car boot - 3 days drive from the Turkisk/Syrian border and they'll be at Heathrow...

we started using them against dug in positions during the Falklands war - not much Argentine armour about, but lots of well dug in machine-gun pits. Treasury went mental when they realised they cost £45k a pop in early 1980's prices, but they get the job done quickly.

About £12000 a shot your not getting a tube in a car boot suprised there were any left that hadnt been disposed javalin its replacement is fire and forget and £45 grand a piece.
Its pretty marginal against modern armour these days one bounced off a challenger along with a dozen rpgs.
But anything that isnt top of the range is fucked.
Bet the kurds dont bother winding in the guide wire that was a shitty job.

 

[butchersapron]

I suspect the liberation of Kobane may have sealed the fate of that remaining japanese hostage.

 

[frogwoman]

I know the quilliam foundation is a bit dodgy but while I've been ill in bed with the flu I have found some fairly in depth reports by them on ISIS.

http://www.quilliamfoundation.org/w...nalysis-of-islamic-state-propaganda-video.pdf (nsfw)

http://www.quilliamfoundation.org/w...tate-the-changing-face-of-modern-jihadism.pdf

http://www.quilliamfoundation.org/w...tions/free/jihad-trending-quilliam-report.pdf

 

[thriller]

really can't be arsed to read these pdf's. summerise it for me.

 

[butchersapron]

I command all other posters not to respond.

 

[teqniq]

really can't be arsed to read these pdf's. summerise it for me.

Sorry butchers don't do the command stuff, anyway... summerise eh?

They all lived happily ever after?

 

[Patteran]

This was posted on twitter earlier by a Kobani resident & journalist. All weapons systems are sinister, but there's something especially sinister about this, possibly because it's so obviously hand-built for one purpose.

Edited to add - Modern weapons are mass-produced, fabricated on assembly lines by lasers & robots & people disconnected from the end product. But the human fabricator of this bomb is evident in the work, & that makes it especially disturbing - if that makes sense.

 

[frogwoman]

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&ei=4LDIVIXxB42taYecgoAF&url=http://www.arab-reform.net/sites/default/files/ISIS's%20Colonial%20Strategy%20in%20Syria%20-%20Legrand%20-%20June%202014%20VF.pdf&ved=0CCIQFjAB&usg=AFQjCNHAs_ErW0ykvC2ocVlNRZG3JtDEXQ&sig2=VCQh5DdomqV-tN-0wlTEqgwlTEqg

Just started reading this piece arguing that Isis is pursuing a colonial strategy, it occcured to me before tbh.

The cadre and hierarchy of ISIS are primarily non-Syrian.1
Thousands of
foreign jihadists have moved to northern Syria and make up the core of the organization and
its most loyal fighters.

 

[frogwoman]

Very interesting piece here arguing that Isis is a colonial movement:

http://t.co/rkDNrvr4yJ


ISIS control over major parts of Syria’s northeastern regions relies on military and political
control by an ideological foreign elite and on the construction of local networks of alliances
with tribes and influential families. ISIS is clearly an external body to the Syrian social and
political environment. When trying to understand the nature of ISIS’s control over a territory,
it is necessary to make a distinction between the jihadist fighters, usually from Iraq or part of
the international jihad network, and their local allies of convenience.
In order to administer newly conquered territories, ISIS utilizes a form of settler colonialism
whereby foreigners take up nearly all the key political and military positions in the “Islamic
State”. Foreign jihadists, some experienced from previous jihads while others are young
recruits, come with their wives and children to the new jihadist safe haven, getting rid of their
passports as a pledge to give up their former lives. This demonstrates a stark contrast to the
FSA and civil Syrian opposition structures, which enjoy an abundance of potential recruits
among the local population but lack material resources. ISIS is unable to mobilize sufficiently
loyal local combatants and administrators, and is therefore forced to work hard to attract
foreigners.

 

[Dogsauce]

Jordan capitulates to IS ransom demands:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-31022111

...unless something else is going on and they're bluffing.

 

[J Ed]

Looks like Israel-Hezbollah exchanges might be escalating into full blown conflict again.

 

[laptop]

Very interesting piece here arguing that Isis is a colonial movement:

http://t.co/rkDNrvr4yJ


ISIS control over major parts of Syria’s northeastern regions relies on military and political
control by an ideological foreign elite

Stopped reading there. Argument applies only if you regard the nation-state as axiomatic.

 

[teqniq]

 

[J Ed]

Israel-Hezb has gone quiet again, lull before the storm or does neither side want escalation? I assumed that Bibi might be quite inclined towards a repeat of 2006 given the proximity of elections...

 

[thriller]

Well done to the Hezbollah lads.

We should start Help for Heroes charity for them.

 

[J Ed]

Given what we know about Turkey's behaviour this is a bit odd

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/Default.aspx?pageID=238&nID=77594&NewsCatID=352

As Kobane residents, some 200,000 who fled to Turkey due to the attacks of jihadist militants, await returning to the war-torn city after the 134th day of clashes, a senior leader of the Kurdish forces has thanked Turkey for its efforts.

“We thank everyone, Turkey in particular, for their support in Kobane,” said Enver Muslim, a senior official of the Democratic Union Party (PYD). The Turkish government views the PYD with deep suspicion because of its ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). “Everyone has a share in this success,” Muslim said, adding that they would start working on the return of the residents soon. Kurdish officials in Kobane plan to make a call for the return of the displaced people by spring, as the town has vastly been destroyed and is facing water and utility problems, Doğan News Agency reported yesterday.

Are they just trying to be gentlemanly and take the high road?

 

[J Ed]

Spanish and German communists fighting with the MLKP (ally of the PKK IIRC) in Syria



A much more worthwhile endeavour than that of the Spanish tankies in Ukraine...

More here.

 

[SpineyNorman]

Stopped reading there. Argument applies only if you regard the nation-state as axiomatic.

While I'm not sure I agree with froggy's quote (though I think it's an interesting angle to look at it from I think it's more complicated than that and I'm not entirely convinced ISIS, though definitely nowhere near as socially embedded as for example the Kurdish groups, are quite as lacking in local support as it claims) I do find it thought provoking and I don't think yours is a good reason to completely dismiss it - because if we applied the same logic to resistance to European colonialism in Africa surely we'd have to conclude that they weren't really resisting colonial regimes because internationalism or something. The point it makes, and possibly runs too far with in framing it as colonialism - is worth making: ISIS aren't run by leaders who are organically linked to those areas - their administrators are from outside the social groups they rule over - and recognised as such by said social groups - and depend on military power and repression for the continuation of their rule. I think it's a stretch to call that colonialism but it's not the terrible article you seem to be making it out to be IMO

 

[frogwoman]

While I'm not sure I agree with froggy's quote (though I think it's an interesting angle to look at it from I think it's more complicated than that and I'm not entirely convinced ISIS, though definitely nowhere near as socially embedded as for example the Kurdish groups, are quite as lacking in local support as it claims) I do find it thought provoking and I don't think yours is a good reason to completely dismiss it - because if we applied the same logic to resistance to European colonialism in Africa surely we'd have to conclude that they weren't really resisting colonial regimes because internationalism or something. The point it makes, and possibly runs too far with in framing it as colonialism - is worth making: ISIS aren't run by leaders who are organically linked to those areas - their administrators are from outside the social groups they rule over - and recognised as such by said social groups - and depend on military power and repression for the continuation of their rule. I think it's a stretch to call that colonialism but it's not the terrible article you seem to be making it out to be IMO

I'd suggest that people read the article because what it's saying is a lot more complex than I originally made out.

 

[phildwyer]

Spanish and German communists fighting with the MLKP (ally of the PKK IIRC) in Syria

Twats, scouring the world for war, no better than the Jihadis.

J Ed should join them.

 

[phildwyer]

Given what we know about Turkey's behaviour this is a bit odd

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/Default.aspx?pageID=238&nID=77594&NewsCatID=352



Are they just trying to be gentlemanly and take the high road?

No you stupid bastard, they are thanking Turkey for its humanitarian assistance. I suppose you find it inconceivable that Turks would offer humanitarian assistance to their enemies?

 

[phildwyer]

A much more worthwhile endeavour than that of the Spanish tankies in Ukraine....

Either J Ed is about 17 years old or he is a veritable monster of ignorance.

I think I'll assume the former for the present, on humanitarian grounds like.

 

[SpineyNorman]

Phil, I like you - you make me laugh. But these personal attacks - especially against a poster who you know has you on ignore - aren't really necessary and will end up derailing an interesting thread. I've hardly posted on this thread because I openly admit I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to this issue but I I've learned more from this thread than anythin else I've read about ISIS and I'd quite like that to continue.

 

[Patteran]

Jabhat al Akrad, The Kurdish Front, have been mentioned recently on twitter during fighting in Kobani & in Aleppo - I knew nothing about them, & found this interview from Rojava Report from April last year - interesting analysis.

Right now are revolution has gone of course. No group is thinking about the revolution but are counting the money they have taken from international powers. They are not supported by any people, and have simply become the tools of the states who give them money. Every group has a state, an intelligence organization behind it. It has become such that intelligence organizations of Western states come and meet with them and the first question they ask is “how many fighters do you have?” This is enough to explain the civil war in Syria. Without any support from the people, or organization or common goals they have not been able to take one step forward. Those most organized and connected with the people in Syria are first and foremost the Kurds. For this reason they will never be defeated. After the Kurds come the Islamic groups. Some of them have some connection with the people. But the FSA groups that have come out talking about revolution can do nothing in their existing state and with their existing logic, and as soon as foreign support is cut they will fall apart and disappear.

 

[phildwyer]

Phil, I like you - you make me laugh. But these personal attacks - especially against a poster who you know has you on ignore - aren't really necessary and will end up derailing an interesting thread. I've hardly posted on this thread because I openly admit I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to this issue but I I've learned more from this thread than anythin else I've read about ISIS and I'd quite like that to continue.

Thanks for your politeness Spiney, it's appreciated.

But J Ed has been screaming for war with Turkey for months now. He loses no opportunity to glorify the PKK. Now he's glorifying Western volunteers who'll travel across the world to fight with them.

You can't expect me (by which I mean anyone in my circumstances) not to get angry at him. And you can't expect me not to tell him so, in the strongest possible terms.

And he obviously hasn't got me on ignore.

 

[SpineyNorman]

Thanks for your politeness Spiney, it's appreciated.

But J Ed has been screaming for war with Turkey for months now. He loses no opportunity to glorify the PKK. Now he's glorifying Western volunteers who'll travel across the world to fight with them.

You can't expect me (by which I mean anyone in my circumstances) not to get angry at him. And you can't expect me not to tell him so, in the strongest possible terms.

And he obviously hasn't got me on ignore.

I haven't seen him mention war with Turkey but I can't be arsed to go back and check. But those particular posts had nothing to do with Turkey - they're about people going to Syria to fight - the only link to Turkey is that the group they're fighting alongside is an ally of the PKK, which seems pretty tenuous to me.