The Islamic state

[coley]

no sign that they are IS though?

BBC claiming they have taken an oath To IS?
From the BBC
The Metropolitan Police said the men are accused of taking an oath of allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) militant group and arranging to buy a handgun equipped with a silencer and conducting "hostile reconnaissance" of a police station and Army barracks in London using Google Street View.

 

[DotCommunist]

ah I'd not seen that. Bringing the war home.

 

[coley]

ah I'd not seen that. Bringing the war home.

Doubt if they are the only ones.

 

[Buckaroo]

ah I'd not seen that. Bringing the war home.

on a moped

 

[coley]

on a moped

Ideal for a shoot n scoot though.

 

[InfoBurner]

Don't know much about Newsweek but found this interesting today. A report of life inside Kobane, fighting ISIS/ISIL/Dhaesh

http://www.newsweek.com/2014/10/24/...ible-and-unprecedented-resistance-277509.html

 

[Patteran]

“After a one-month resistance we have launched a step-by-step advance towards victory. In the last week in particular Kobanê has become a graveyard for ISIS.”
Confident, optimistic statement from a YPG commander in Kobane that also refutes the story run by Iraqi-Kurdish news outlet Rudaw that 'at least six' YPG combatants were killed in the US airstrikes.

http://en.firatajans.com/news/news/...are-close-to-victory.htm#.VEDhWJPCWwQ.twitter

"There are two roads. Either it will be the path of the gangs and of the occupiers or the path of democracy. This is a test."
Longer interview with Kobane commander Berxwedan here -
http://rojavareport.wordpress.com/2014/10/17/interview-with-ypg-commander-isis-has-lost-in-kobane/

 

[coley]

"There are two roads. Either it will be the path of the gangs and of the occupiers or the path of democracy. This is a test."
Longer interview with Kobane commander Berxwedan here -
http://rojavareport.wordpress.com/2014/10/17/interview-with-ypg-commander-isis-has-lost-in-kobane/

Humbling stuff, why we let these people down while being willing to fund and support some of the most inept and corrupt regimes imaginable is beyond me.

 

[DotCommunist]

Humbling stuff, why we let these people down while being willing to fund and support some of the most inept and corrupt regimes imaginable is beyond me.

realpolitik ennit

 

[J Ed]

Another strange story

http://www.haaretz.com/1.620751

There are a number of Jews among the more than 1,000 French citizens who have joined the Islamic State, a French government official told Israel's Channel 2 news.

Citing figures compiled by the French Interior Ministry, the official on Monday said intelligence shows there are people "of Jewish extraction," some of whom converted to Islam, among those who joined the jihadist group.

The official emphasized that there are only a small handful of Jews among the IS recruits – not enough to consider it a trend.

The revelation comes just days after reports surfaced that a French Jewish teenager was among the approximately 100 young women who have left France to join jihad in Syria during the past year and a half.

Meyer Habib, a Jewish member of the French parliament, said the suspected jihadis were the topic of conversation among France's Jewish community. However, he claimed, there is no official proof they actually joined IS.

If a Jewish girl did join the Islamic State, "it really is the end of the world" and complicates matters, Habib told Channel 2.

One French rabbi said the issue was of great concern to many in the Jewish community. "It is inconceivable that this would happen," he told Channel 2. "There are many rumors swirling and we hope an official source will update us. Some say the Jewish girl converted, and that is also disconcerting."

 

[coley]

realpolitik ennit

Now I'm a simplistic soul but 'realpolitik' would involve helping your geopolitical/ security/ energy, ends as opposed to supporting regimes who at the first opportunity will turn and savage yer arse( after relieving you of billions of dollars and assets)?
Or, and I know it sounds a bit cynical and conspiracy looney , but what if those inept corrupt regimes offered the best return on your corporate balance sheets?

 

[twentythreedom]

Could IS use a jet as a kamikaze weapon? How far could a jet realistically go? (One way obvs)

 

[coley]

Could IS use a jet as a kamikaze weapon? How far could a jet realistically go? (One way obvs)

Piloted by IS? About 20 miles before it was obliterated, AWACS would give anything like that the highest priority.

 

[SpookyFrank]

“Kobane is quiet now and the flag of ISIS is gone,”

http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/17102014

Anyone have more info on the current situation? Mainstream media has got bored of Kobane it seems, or they're deliberately ignoring it.

 

[Pickman's model]

http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/17102014

Anyone have more info on the current situation? Mainstream media has got bored of Kobane it seems, or they're deliberately ignoring it.

i can only assume you don't know how to use google. https://www.google.com/search?q=kob...es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8#q=kobane&tbm=nws&tbs=qdr:d

you'll note the piece there from the telegraph from 3 hours ago for starters. and the bit about the german biker gang.

 

[coley]

i can only assume you don't know how to use google. https://www.google.com/search?q=kob...es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8#q=kobane&tbm=nws&tbs=qdr:d

you'll note the piece there from the telegraph from 3 hours ago for starters. and the bit about the german biker gang.

Or here.
http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/c...ly-the-tide-is-beginning-to-turn-against-isil
All positive.

 

[teqniq]

http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/17102014

Anyone have more info on the current situation? Mainstream media has got bored of Kobane it seems, or they're deliberately ignoring it.

Fiercest fighting in days hits Syrian border town

 

[TomUS]

http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/17102014

Anyone have more info on the current situation? Mainstream media has got bored of Kobane it seems, or they're deliberately ignoring it.

A little more recent & not quite as optimistic. It says ISIS still controls 20% of the town but the air strikes have been accurate & effective in helping to drive them back. Looks like they won't take Kobane.

But then the US Air Force struck: a bombardment that turned the tanks of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) into smoking wrecks and transformed the inexorable advance on this Syrian town into a rout.

This weekend, after almost two weeks of aerial attacks Isil has begun to to flee the Syrian border town, that they had been on the brink of capturing.

At first the air strikes had appeared to make little difference and for days the jihadists advance had continued into the centre of the Kurdish town.

The crucial turning point, Mr Kharaba said, the US airforce destroyed a building where Isil leaders had been meeting, killing everyone inside.

“About thirty major fighters were killed and some commanders,” said Mr Kharaba, adding that some Syrians loyal to his group had infiltrated Isil to act as spies.

With its best men gone, Mr Kharaba said, Isil has been forced to call on a “police division” – men who manage the law and order of Isil territories but with little experience of front line battles – to come to Kobane.

And without equipment that could be targeted from the air, the jihadists were forced to resort to the same guerrilla tactics used by their opponents. In this new dynamic, knowledge of the town’s layout became key, and in this the Kurdish fighters, many of who are from Kobane, have the upper hand.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...ng.-The-town-will-be-a-cemetery-for-Isil.html

 

[Casually Red]

do you think the plucky defenders of kobane will pursue them as they flee headlong into the desert?

doubt it...seems theyve been clever enough to leave enough stay behinds.. snipers suicide bombers and booby traps etc to keep the defenders occupied for a while.

 

[Casually Red]

Is that recent support? At the start of the civil war in Syria there was talk by many countries of giving aid to all kinds of anti-Assad groups, so in that context it would have appeared less out of order than it would do now.

(link doesn't work for me btw, article renders with blank lines rather than text)

Retaining Kobane will be a big morale boost for Kurdish groups everywhere, might embolden some of the groups within Turkey, even if it may have been with a fairly big assist from western air power.

reports ive heard have Kurds insisting western air power made little tactical difference. And in what was largely street to street fighting id be inclined to agree

 

[Casually Red]

Humbling stuff, why we let these people down while being willing to fund and support some of the most inept and corrupt regimes imaginable is beyond me.

the PKK are listed as a terrorist organization by the western powers.

 

[twentythreedom]

Piloted by IS? About 20 miles before it was obliterated, AWACS would give anything like that the highest priority.

Yeah thought so. So really IS having fast jets is likely to amount to nothing

 

[Casually Red]

Turkey has reportedly been accused of not only providing strategic intel on Kurdish fighters to the Islamic State but also of being involved in training jihadi militants.
http://www.ibtimes.co.in/turkey-tra...e-data-kobanes-kurdish-fighters-report-611458

hope not already posted!

doubtful theyre the only ones. Worth remembering the western powers have insisted for the past 3 years theyve been providing training and equipment to moderate rebels. They also claim to have been overseeing and co ordinating the international aid to moderate rebels.

And how did they now these rebels were moderates ? well..as John Kerry Cameron and Hague were regularly explaining for the past 3 years ...while countering repeated Russian and Syrian accusations theyve been massively assisting and empowering extremist jihadists..the US and Britain and France have been working very closely with their allies in the region..namely Turkey Saudi Qatar Kuwait and the Emirates to make sure it was the right people the west were funneling the assistance to.
Thats the states the west have taken the directions from as to which crazed beardie is a good guy ..the loonies main sponsors . Little doubt itll come out in the wash our taxes were spent helping these animals and their ilk right accross Syria for years .

And to make matters worse the western response to the threat posed by them is to announce once again theyre going to arm and train moderate rebels in order for them to fight the loonies. Repeat exactly the same exercise that directly led to their rise in the first place. And where is this training and arming of carefully vetted moderates going to take place ? Saudi fucking Arabia .

an example of what Saudi fucking Arabia regards as moderate behavior . Senior shia cleric sentenced to death the other day for organising protests against the house of Saud . Death by crucifixion and beheading .

After being imprisoned for nearly two years, al-Nimr appeared in Riyadh’s Specialized Criminal Court Wednesday with his lawyer and two brothers. Charged with terrorism offences and “breaking allegiance to the king,” the judge upheld the country’s harshest sentence — “crucifixion” — where the decapitated body is publicly displayed. His brothers were reportedly detained after the sentencing.

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2...ences_highprofile_shiite_cleric_to_death.html

 

[Casually Red]

Yeah thought so. So really IS having fast jets is likely to amount to nothing

yes but these frankly bizarre reports...accompanied by absolutely zero photographic or video evidence despite all and sundry having cameras on their phones..much less satellite imagery drone footage or radar reports.. may be deemed rather helpful by a certain Mr Erdogan who was...funnily enough... calling for a no fly zone over Syria just the other day as part of his price for helping the west out . And now just a few days after the Americans admit hes acceded to their demands to use his bases in Turkey the loonies seem to have suddenly acquired a phantom airforce . Rather conveniently id have thought.
we may well hear this talk about no fly zones again if this nonsense gains any traction . Personally dont believe a word of it.

 

[twentythreedom]

yes but these frankly bizarre reports...accompanied by absolutely zero photographic or video evidence despite all and sundry having cameras on their phones..much less satellite imagery drone footage or radar reports.. may be deemed rather helpful by a certain Mr Erdogan who was...funnily enough... calling for a no fly zone over Syria just the other day as part of his price for helping the west out . And now just a few days after the Americans admit hes acceded to their demands to use his bases in Turkey the loonies seem to have suddenly acquired a phantom airforce . Rather conveniently id have thought.
we may well hear this talk about no fly zones again if this nonsense gains any traction . Personally dont believe a word of it.

It is a bit WTF for sure

 

[butchersapron]

This from euronews is supposed to show Kobane yesterday:



The YPG and the FSA today agreed on further and expanded co-operation - and importantly included area outside of the three autonomous cantons - i.e the rest of revolutionary Syria. One of the previous stalling blocks for this was turkish support for pretty much all the syrian rebels - some sort of agreement over this has clearly been reached.

And just one more - this opne on what Kobane means as regards the cantons and their prospects as well as potential impact on iraqi kurdistan - and the potential relations the international left may have with these developments. I suspect many won't read past the 2nd para, but there is really good info and analysis below it even if you disagree with the opening remarks

Kobani: What’s in a name?

The city of Kobani’s epic resistance against the genocidal assault of the Islamic State (IS) has entered its thirtieth day. So far the response of the western left has been generally one of solidarity. However, the left seems divided on the best way to support Kobani. Invoking anti-imperialist and anti-war principles a considerable part of the left has been shying away from demanding military and logistical support for the main defending force of the city, i.e. People’s Protection Units (YPG) and Women Protection Unites (YPJ), the armed wings of Democratic Union Party (PYD), by the US led anti-IS coalition. Moreover, with some exceptions such as David Graeber many western leftists have neglected the historical significance and transformative political potentials of the success of Kobani’s resistance.

In what follows I argue that pressuring western powers to provide arms and logistical support to YPG/YPJ is legitimate and justifiable, and that in the battle for Kobani the left has a unique opportunity to contribute to an important shift in the regional balance of power in favour of a radical democratic and egalitarian project with transformative ramifications for the entire Middle East

 

[Patteran]

"The list of those who, out of necessity or choice, cooperated with imperial powers but were then left to die is endless".
Thoughtful piece in Roar magazine about the PYD's uncomfortable, necessary & temporary tactical alliance with the USAF. The writer also fills in a couple of blanks about recent developments, claiming Turkey have allowed some reinforcements & supplies into Kobane. (thanks again to butchersapron for leading me to this source).
http://roarmag.org/2014/10/kobane-kurds-us-imperialism/

 

[Patteran]

And just one more - this opne on what Kobane means as regards the cantons and their prospects as well as potential impact on iraqi kurdistan - and the potential relations the international left may have with these developments. I suspect many won't read past the 2nd para, but there is really good info and analysis below it even if you disagree with the opening remarks

Kobani: What’s in a name?

Reading past the second paragraph led me to this gem - "IS is the fascistic faeces of western imperial metabolism". More interesting context - ta.

 

[teqniq]

Islamic State foiled in attempt to kidnap Syrian rebel leader in Turkey

A top Syrian rebel commander was shot and wounded in an apparent kidnapping attempt by the Islamic State in a Turkish city, raising questions about Ankara’s readiness to stop jihadists operating on its soil.
Abu Issa, the leader of Thuwar Raqqa, a Syrian rebel group who has been fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) in the town of Kobane, was ambushed by Isil extremists in Urfa in neighbouring Turkey.
Ankara has adopted tighter national security measures in recent months in an attempt to stem the flow of foreign fighters who have used its long border with Syria as a conduit to jihad.
But the flagrant kidnapping attempt in the southeastern town of Urfa, shows how Isil can still operate inside this Nato country with relative impunity.
The rebel commander and his son, Ammar, 20, were snatched from the car on Friday afternoon whilst returning home after meeting with Turkish officials in Urfa city centre, his aides told the Telegraph.

“Isil cars blocked the road ahead of them, and four armed men grabbed them from the vehicle,” said Ahmed Abdul Khader, a spokesman for Thuwar Raqqa. “It was 6.30pm.”
A matching account of the kidnapping was separately given to the Telegraph by Abo Ayham, another military commander in the group.
Abu Issa’s closest advisor, who was driving, had been in on the Isil plot, Mr Khader said, detouring to the quiet back road where the attack happened: “When the Isil cars blocked the road ahead, Abu Issa told the driver to turn around, but he just switched the engine off, and let the kidnappers take them from the car,” he said....

 

[Casually Red]

Islamic State foiled in attempt to kidnap Syrian rebel leader in Turkey

also illustrates how deeply infiltrated the moderate rebel groups are