The Islamic state

[Idris2002]

According to this thing from last summer, Bloody Harseholes and ISIS are BFFs, but that probably doesn't translate into direct material cooperation:

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/08/boko-haram-teaming-isis-super-caliphate

 

[Idris2002]

And this from last month argues that the Bokes are fast learners, especially when it comes to online Jihad:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/29/isis-and-boko-haram-s-unholy-online-alliance.html

 

[butchersapron]

Interesting inside inside look (i take it we're all adult enough not to need source/bias warnings).

FSA 'CLOSING IN' ON MANBIJ AS ISLAMIC STATE IN RETREAT

Q: Can you tell us about the Muhajireen [what they call non-Syrian fighters] and theAnsar [Syrian fighters] of IS in Manbij? Who are they?

There are many foreign fighters in Manbij; they call the city Little London because of so many British fighters. There is also a large number of Chechens, Russians, Germans, French, Moroccans and Egyptians.

The other members are residents of the city that have pledged allegiance to IS, whether in a military capacity or for other services. You can’t distinguish the Ansar from the Muhajirin now, as they all speak formal Arabic.

The Ansar are a mixture of three groups:

The first group are those who oppose the Free Syrian Army and the [affiliated] Revolutionary Council. These people did not initially participate in the revolution. Later, they wanted to join the revolution so they joined IS; we call them profiteers. There are only a few, and they are well-known to us, like Mohammed al-Basher, a leader in IS. He was a member of the Revolutionary Council [FSA], but we dismiss him as we know that he did not give any effort to the revolution.

The second group are the mercenaries: people who joined IS because of a lack of money and the high taxes IS levies on civilians. IS enforced laws that make life more difficult for people, causing unemployment amongst them. Afterwards, they had no option except joining IS.

The third group are those who seek power and dominance, such as tribal leaders and the strict religious men. They are already rich, but they welcomed IS from the beginning. Before the revolution most of them were in the Syrian Parliament. Some young men joined IS to have more sway in their families.

 

[butchersapron]

Kirkuk and Iraq and control:

Kurds reject proposed rival force in Kirkuk

ERBIL, Iraq — A law to found a paramilitary National Guard force in Iraq to assist in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) has put Kurds at loggerheads with other communities in northern Iraq.

 

[coley]

Kirkuk and Iraq and control:

Kurds reject proposed rival force in Kirkuk

You can understand the Peshmergas position though, while there has been cooperation with the
Shiite militias ( lukewarm though it may have been) a Sunnis militia operating in your near proximity is an altogether different proposition, given the way alliances change on a daily basis?

 

[frogwoman]

Young boy flogged for calling ISIS 'Daesh'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...are-referring-ISIS-hated-Daesh-term-Iraq.html

 

[frogwoman]

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/f...er-supermarket-killer-wife-magazine-931234598

Wife of kosher supermarket suspect featured in 'Dabiq' magazine

Not linking to it here but ive read a previous issue off an anti terrorist website, utterly mental. The headings and fonts are almost like something you would find on a table in a doctors waiting room.

 

[frogwoman]

Oh no

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/isis-magaz...lie-attacks-aloof-uk-government-media-1487744


Conscious of the precariousness of his situation, Cantlie emotionally appeals to his family, fiancée and friends to forget about him and move on.

"Thank you so much for your tireless efforts. But let it go. Leave it be and get on with your lives, all of you," he writes.

In the article, Cantlie also accuses British media of aloofness and lack of depth when reporting on his situation.

 

[coley]

Young boy flogged for calling ISIS 'Daesh'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...are-referring-ISIS-hated-Daesh-term-Iraq.html

Aye, but it's the snail and though, like all IS punishments,its barbaric,he is being allowed to keep his top on, extremely moderate behaviour by their standards?

 

[frogwoman]

An article on isis propaganda from last year..y

http://america.aljazeera.com/opinio...inespublishingisilalqaedapakistantaliban.html

 

[frogwoman]

In focusing narrowly on ISIL’s barbarities, Western media have prioritized beating the drum of war and justifying military intervention over their journalistic responsibilities. The media’s reductionist and good-versus-evil narrative misses crucial insights into how ISIL managed to recruit15,000 foreign fighters from 80 countries to its ranks. Such understanding requires looking beyond the bogus claim that the militants’ political propaganda is a version of Islamic theology and instead questioning their claims about postracial and economically equal Islamic utopia. Toward that end, the proliferating militant magazines offer rare glimpses into the ascent of militancy, their appeal to Western youth and shifting political realities in the Muslim world.

 

[DotCommunist]

Aye, but it's the snail and though, like all IS punishments,its barbaric,he is being allowed to keep his top on, extremely moderate behaviour by their standards?

all that does is stop skin breaks, it'll still hurt badly and leave crushing and bruising wounds on his back. The scum.

 

[DotCommunist]

In focusing narrowly on ISIL’s barbarities, Western media have prioritized beating the drum of war and justifying military intervention over their journalistic responsibilities. The media’s reductionist and good-versus-evil narrative misses crucial insights into how ISIL managed to recruit15,000 foreign fighters from 80 countries to its ranks. Such understanding requires looking beyond the bogus claim that the militants’ political propaganda is a version of Islamic theology and instead questioning their claims about postracial and economically equal Islamic utopia. Toward that end, the proliferating militant magazines offer rare glimpses into the ascent of militancy, their appeal to Western youth and shifting political realities in the Muslim world.

reading your 2nd piece earlier it occured to me that uk domestic media has ditched talking of jihadist or islamist fighter in your 'news at 610' slots. Now just talk if IS. If they have to talk about al quida in iraq at the same time you get visibly convoluted sentences. Just my obo.

 

[frogwoman]

http://m.gulfnews.com/news/region/syria/daesh-continues-to-draw-steady-stream-of-recruits-1.1455096

Syrian war has created 'largest convergence of terrorists in world history'

This backs up what Peter Neumann was saying about foreign fighters, there have been more in a few years in Syria than in Afghanistan in a decade.

If turkey tightened the border tho, where are they all coming from?

 

[frogwoman]

http://m.albawaba.com/news/media-freedom-faced-drastic-decline-2014-because-daesh-656222

Media freedom faced drastic decline because of Daesh in 2014

 

[teqniq]

Ain't no way to delay that trouble coming every day

 

[coley]

all that does is stop skin breaks, it'll still hurt badly and leave crushing and bruising wounds on his back. The scum.

But, and in a sense of fairness and understanding, it not so long ago that this was a common punishment in our own armed forces.
In context, I find it strange that IS have limited themselves to, in comparison, to their usual behaviour, a fairly mild punishment?

 

[coley]

Though I don't agree with everything he posits, well worth a read, be warned a bit long, but his summing up is spot on, IMO anyway.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/no-piers-morgan-how-destroy-islamic-state-1630388804

 

[frogwoman]

http://www.raqqa-sl.com/en/?p=544

Isis face their own internal reign of terror

One of those, who goes by the name Hamood Almossa, says ISIS militants are divided into several competing groups: Some are extreme hardliners originally attracted by the harsh application of Sharia law; others are Syrian militants who now complain that they bore the brunt of the months-long fighting over the border town of Kobani and are reluctant to be used to reinforce ISIS units in neighboring Iraq. Still others are Gulf Arabs jealous of the power held by hardcore Iraqi militants who form the inner coterie of the ISIS leadership around Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The Gulf Arabs, many of whom are veterans from the conflicts in Afghanistan and Pakistan, feel excluded from overall decision-making.

North African recruits among the Islamic State’s estimated 20,000 foreign fighters are among the most disgruntled, the Raqqa activists say. They complain they receive less than Gulf Arabs, Europeans, and Chechens who are paid as much as $1,000 a month. They grumble about missing out on many of the spoils of war, including women slaves and jihadi brides. Like local Syrian fighters, North African recruits say they have been used as cannon fodder, especially in the battle for Kobani.

Last week, four Tunisian recruits who joined ISIS months ago were executed in the neighborhood of Rumaila in central Raqqa, say opposition activists. They were described as traitors. Two other Tunisians, possibly along with family members, were executed in the Eddekhar neighborhood of Raqqa.

The quarrels and executions trigger more cycles of revenge as commanders and groups compete and jockey for power and survival. The disputes over the fate of Kasasbeh and the Japanese captives “raised the ire of the [Raqqa] security office, which started to eliminate a number of members who have become skeptical about the application of the law of God,” says Almossa.

 

[coley]

http://m.gulfnews.com/news/region/syria/daesh-continues-to-draw-steady-stream-of-recruits-1.1455096

Syrian war has created 'largest convergence of terrorists in world history'

This backs up what Peter Neumann was saying about foreign fighters, there have been more in a few years in Syria than in Afghanistan in a decade.

If turkey tightened the border tho, where are they all coming from?

Turkey tightening its borders? Only if you are armed Kurds, Peshmerga etc, IS seems to have free movement and occasional artillery and armoured support from Turkey.

 

[frogwoman]

It must be quite easy to get from here to over the border in gaziantep tbh if you're that determined.

 

[David Clapson]

I'm new here and can't face reading this whole thread, but I'd be grateful if anyone could point me towards an intelligent analysis of IS' tactics. The press often dismiss their savagery as nothing more than deranged hatred, but if you look at their atrocities dispassionately perhaps they add up to a methodical campaign to destabilise more and more of the region and pave the way for a bigger caliphate. The only piece I've read which considers this is in the hateful Daily Mail by the unsavoury Michael Burleigh. I hate to generate clicks for the Mail, but the article is very thought provoking http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-ISIS-playing-sophisticated-game-winning.html Perhaps I should paste it? It's very long.

 

[frogwoman]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-astonishing-attacks-Right-wing-bloggers.html

'Kayla Mueller was a jew-hating piece of crap' apparently

 

[Pickman's model]

I'm new here and can't face reading this whole thread, but I'd be grateful if anyone could point me towards an intelligent analysis of IS' tactics. The press often dismiss their savagery as nothing more than deranged hatred, but if you look at their atrocities dispassionately perhaps they add up to a methodical campaign to destabilise more and more of the region and pave the way for a bigger caliphate. The only piece I've read which considers this is in the hateful Daily Mail by the unsavoury Michael Burleigh. I hate to generate clicks for the Mail, but the article is very thought provoking http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-ISIS-playing-sophisticated-game-winning.html Perhaps I should paste it? It's very long.

your question might be answered if you read the thread.

 

[DotCommunist]

they'd have kept quiet if it was one of theirs Froggy wrt daily mail talking of 'right wing bloggers'

 

[frogwoman]

Read the thread, there's loads of analysis here. Also just read that yazidis are slaughtering arabs in reprisals

 

[David Clapson]

134 pages??? Hmm.

 

[Nylock]

134 pages??? Hmm.

tbf some of that is dwyer engaging in some pointless attention-seeking. You can probably skip a load of that content and still get good info from this thread....

 

[DotCommunist]

134 pages??? Hmm.

worth it- theres hundreds of links and sources and information- even if you just skimmed the comments and read the links you'd be better informed imo. Arsery aside, its a very informative thread

 

[Teaboy]

134 pages??? Hmm.

Yup, but one thing that becomes clear is that its a complex situation. It is worth it, but yes putting Dyer on ignore will shorten the thread and help your sanity.