ISIS in Iraq and Syria

[milemuncher777]

They have placed banned on private Wifi in Raqqa.

 

[2cents]

Also, there are claims Baghdadi has banned the publication of any further beheading videos.

 

[milemuncher777]

Also, there are claims Baghdadi has banned the publication of any further beheading videos.

Any logical reason behind this ?

In regards to Wifi ban one can assume they wanted to keep a close watch and censor on everything that's been reported from there.

 

[Raoul]

I doubt Baghdadi is well enough to be actively involved at this point.

 

[2cents]

Any logical reason behind this ?

Apparently he's concerned with the affect the videos may have on Muslim women and children - http://www.hngn.com/articles/110631...u-bakr-al-baghdadi-bans-release-execution.htm

 

[Red Defence]

http://www.spiegel.de/international...y-life-under-the-islamic-state-a-1041317.html

Must-read, and horrifying.

People joining IS must be in a very sorry state of mind to actually believe that the edict of this so-called Islamic State is based on any religion but their own sadistic version of power. I'm only part way through the Quran (and not Muslim) but the behaviour of IS feels to be an insult to both Allah and Mohammed. (No offence meant to anyone, that's just my opinion).

 

[2cents]

Supposedly, IS banned Eid prayers in Mosul.

These guys clearly aren't Muslim, and as a consequence should kill themselves (if they follow their own ideology).

I'm a bit skeptical of this report @Uzz, e.g. here's a video just released by them of 'Eid prayers in Fallujah - https://videopress.com/v/Stn8Pd1q

Perhaps there was some security aspect to what happened in Mosul, or perhaps it's just a false report designed to discredit them.

 

[Kaos]

I'm a bit skeptical of this report @Uzz, e.g. here's a video just released by them of 'Eid prayers in Fallujah - https://videopress.com/v/Stn8Pd1q

Perhaps there was some security aspect to what happened in Mosul, or perhaps it's just a false report designed to discredit them.

Ahh ffs why did I click that at work.

Now I'm definitely getting looked at.

 

[LeChuck]

People joining IS must be in a very sorry state of mind to actually believe that the edict of this so-called Islamic State is based on any religion but their own sadistic version of power. I'm only part way through the Quran (and not Muslim) but the behaviour of IS feels to be an insult to both Allah and Mohammed. (No offence meant to anyone, that's just my opinion).

No offence caused, because you're exactly right.

If you look at the Medinat Surahs, which tend to be more legislative and descriptive, and more to do with governance, you can see how rules are meant to be implemented, and how these are to form a harmonious society. Especially, if you delve further and look at the hadith and tafsir of many of these verses, anyone can tell that IS are just a severe perversion of what's written.

I'm a bit skeptical of this report @Uzz, e.g. here's a video just released by them of 'Eid prayers in Fallujah - https://videopress.com/v/Stn8Pd1q

Perhaps there was some security aspect to what happened in Mosul, or perhaps it's just a false report designed to discredit them.

Maybe, yea. I mean, quite a variable number of reliable sources are reporting/reported it. I won't click that link just yet after reading @Kaos ' message...

 

[2cents]

Ahh ffs why did I click that at work.

Now I'm definitely getting looked at.

Maybe, yea. I mean, quite a variable number of reliable sources are reporting/reported it. I won't click that link just yet after reading @Kaos ' message...

Eh yeah, sorry about that, I probably shouldn't be posting that stuff here...

 

[VidaRed]

Supposedly, IS banned Eid prayers in Mosul.



These guys clearly aren't Muslim, and as a consequence should kill themselves (if they follow their own ideology).

Apparently these guys represent me and my religion

 

[Kaos]

Some justice porn: An ISIS convoy has been blown up by their own mine, killing two local leaders

http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/16072015

 

[LeChuck]

@Kaos - is it safe for me to click this link using my work laptop?

 

[Kaos]

@Kaos - is it safe for me to click this link using my work laptop?

Yeah its just a short Kurdish news story, no videos.

 

[2cents]

This is a really good (lengthy) article on a London kid who blew himself up in Ramadi - his background in the Moroccan community in West London, and the kind of factional debates within the community and within the Salafi movement there which produce guys like him, well worth a read - http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/th...tish-suicide-bomber-of-ramadi-by-tam-hussein/

 

[2cents]

Also, there are claims Baghdadi has banned the publication of any further beheading videos.

So much for that...

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[Kaos]

This is a really good (lengthy) article on a London kid who blew himself up in Ramadi - his background in the Moroccan community in West London, and the kind of factional debates within the community and within the Salafi movement there which produce guys like him, well worth a read - http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/th...tish-suicide-bomber-of-ramadi-by-tam-hussein/

I used to date a Moroccan girl from Ladbroke Grove. The place is a cesspit, its filled with either bellend 'badmans' or Salafist nutcases. I'm not surprised its proved fertile ground for ISIS recruitment.

 

[Sultan]

Flynn also publicly commented for the first time on a previously classified Aug. 2012 DIA memo, which was recently obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request and reported on by HNGN. The memo had been circulated among top government officials and predicted that the U.S.'s covert support of Syrian rebels would lead to the establishment of "a declared or undeclared Salafist principality in Eastern Syria." The memo went on to say that the U.S. desired the creation of an Islamic State because it would further weaken Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Flynn said "the [Obama] administration" did not "listen" to these warnings issues by his agency. "I don't know if they turned a blind eye. I think it was a decision. I think it was a willful decision."

http://www.hngn.com/articles/110533...e-terrorists-killing-suggests-retired-dia.htm

 

[Sultan]

That's a shocking revelation if true!

 

[Kaos]

Its hardly shocking or surprising Sults. A lot of us were saying it in the early Syria thread here a few years ago.

 

[sun_tzu]

Its hardly shocking or surprising Sults. A lot of us were saying it in the early Syria thread here a few years ago.

its shocking that he has managed to come out and say it without ending up in the back of a cargo plane wearing an orange suit waiting to be dropped of at whichever government they are outsourcing torture to these days

 

[Kaos]

its shocking that he has managed to come out and say it without ending up in the back of a cargo plane wearing an orange suit waiting to be dropped of at whichever government they are outsourcing torture to these days

Its them trying to save face with their whole "Sorry, we messed up" rhetoric. Its the worst kept secret now anyhow. They just never anticipated the organisation would grew and cultivate the macabre image they've developed across the globe, so the US will now be quick to distance itself.

 

[Pexbo]

Flynn also publicly commented for the first time on a previously classified Aug. 2012 DIA memo, which was recently obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request and reported on by HNGN. The memo had been circulated among top government officials and predicted that the U.S.'s covert support of Syrian rebels would lead to the establishment of "a declared or undeclared Salafist principality in Eastern Syria." The memo went on to say that the U.S. desired the creation of an Islamic State because it would further weaken Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Flynn said "the [Obama] administration" did not "listen" to these warnings issues by his agency. "I don't know if they turned a blind eye. I think it was a decision. I think it was a willful decision."

http://www.hngn.com/articles/110533...e-terrorists-killing-suggests-retired-dia.htm

Is it possible this is a form of propaganda?

I mean surely the ultimate insult to these people would be finding out that they are actually a carefully constructed tool of the enemy they despise the most?

 

[Kaos]

Is it possible this is a form of propaganda?

I mean surely the ultimate insult to these people would be finding out that they are actually a carefully constructed tool of the enemy they despise the most?

Its not as simple as that though. It was the regional policy of the US and her allies that had cultivated the groundwork for ISIS to develop into what they are today as opposed to the US deciding to directly prop them up.

 

[Pexbo]

Its not as simple as that though. It was the regional policy of the US and her allies that had cultivated the groundwork for ISIS to develop into what they are today as opposed to the US deciding to directly prop them up.

No, sorry I'll reword, what I'm saying is; is it possible that this "leak" about the U.S. actively facilitating the rise of IS rather than inadvertently could just be smart propaganda to make vulnerable Muslims think twice about joining IS as a stand against the U.S.

 

[Kaos]

No, sorry I'll reword, what I'm saying is; is it possible that this "leak" about the U.S. actively facilitating the rise of IS rather than inadvertently could just be smart propaganda to make vulnerable Muslims think twice about joining IS as a stand against the U.S.

That's a fair observation, but to many of these Muslims its not about fighting the US, but rather the other heretics that they deem to be a threat to the 'sunnah' - ie the Shias. Then for others its just a false escape from their underwhelming lives where they think they're swapping the bleakness of West London for power, women and conquest in Syria and Iraq.

 

[LeChuck]

That's a fair observation, but to many of these Muslims its not about fighting the US, but rather the other heretics that they deem to be a threat to the 'sunnah' - ie the Shias. Then for others its just a false escape from their underwhelming lives where they think they're swapping the bleakness of West London for power, women and conquest in Syria and Iraq.

I don't think that's a totally fair comment, tbh. If we rewind the clock to 2011, a lot of people went out to Syria for humanitarian reasons, and to provide aid and medical help to the civilian population of Syria. I mean, these people (the Syrians) were being gassed by their own president, and killed on the streets. One of my friends, who was a Doctor, was killed providing medical services to the people there, in the hospital he was working in. One of my other friends went just to drive ambulances. These were selfless people, with selfless actions. It's not fair to class them with youths who have delusions of grandeur. I don't think you'd accuse Dr. Mads Gilbert of the same thing? (The Dr. who travels to Gaza). Would Abdul Rahman Kassig be accused of that? I doubt it.

Some still go out for humanitarian reasons (mainly Syria), but they're all painted with the same terrorist brush.

 

[Kaos]

I don't think that's a totally fair comment, tbh. If we rewind the clock to 2011, a lot of people went out to Syria for humanitarian reasons, and to provide aid and medical help to the civilian population of Syria. I mean, these people (the Syrians) were being gassed by their own president, and killed on the streets. One of my friends, who was a Doctor, was killed providing medical services to the people there, in the hospital he was working in. One of my other friends went just to drive ambulances. These were selfless people, with selfless actions. It's not fair to class them with youths who have delusions of grandeur. I don't think you'd accuse Dr. Mads Gilbert of the same thing? (The Dr. who travels to Gaza). Would Abdul Rahman Kassig be accused of that? I doubt it.

Some still go out for humanitarian reasons (mainly Syria), but they're all painted with the same terrorist brush.

I was referring to the motives behind people going over to join groups like ISIS and Al-Nusra, not to offer humanitarian aid. In the case of the latter I have no doubt most have benevolent and charitable intentions. In the case of the former its either because of being brainwashed to fight the 'Kuffar' and supposed enemies of the Sunnah, or for a misguided sense of adventure.

Sorry to hear about your friend. May he RIP.

 

[LeChuck]

I was referring to the motives behind people going over to join groups like ISIS and Al-Nusra, not to offer humanitarian aid. In the case of the latter I have no doubt most have benevolent and charitable intentions. In the case of the former its either because of being brainwashed to fight the 'Kuffar' and supposed enemies of the Sunnah, or for a misguided sense of adventure.

Sorry to hear about your friend. May he RIP.

I agree to an extent - I think with the diminishing power of the FSA in Syria, and the rise of IS and Al-Nusra, a lot of people out there from here (the West) were assumed to be part of those groups. For example, the friend I mentioned (who drove ambulances) left soon after groups such as IS started making more clamour in Syria (2013ish). 2.5 years later, he's only just been allowed in the UK. And I'd have a gander that many of these people reported as joining the fight over the last couple of years, aren't really doing that at all. But that's not to say that they're all going out for humanitarian reasons, because they aren't. Some obviously are going to fight and kill etc.

Edit: And thanks.

 

[Kaos]

I agree to an extent - I think with the diminishing power of the FSA in Syria, and the rise of IS and Al-Nusra, a lot of people out there from here (the West) were assumed to be part of those groups. For example, the friend I mentioned (who drove ambulances) left soon after groups such as IS started making more clamour in Syria (2013ish). 2.5 years later, he's only just been allowed in the UK. And I'd have a gander that many of these people reported as joining the fight over the last couple of years, aren't really doing that at all. But that's not to say that they're all going out for humanitarian reasons, because they aren't. Some obviously are going to fight and kill etc.

I have no problem with those going over to join for humanitarian reason, a former med school colleague of mine did so too and I have no doubt his intentions were of utmost benevolence (consider his precedence of impuslively jetting around the globe to help those in need, he was in Sierra Leone last I checked!).

Though I do understand why there's cynicism regarding people who go over for 'humanitarian reasons'. A sizeable minority of these people use it as a guise to tell friends, family and their home government when their real intention is to join a militant group like ISIS or Al Nusra.

Personally I wouldn't take the risk for a myriad of reasons. Ignoring the obvious security risks, you're also likely to attract unnecessary scrutiny from back home. There are already dozens of fantastic charities out there someone can contribute to from home, just be careful they're not linked to extremist groups like one from my former University

 

[2cents]

Flynn also publicly commented for the first time on a previously classified Aug. 2012 DIA memo, which was recently obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request and reported on by HNGN. The memo had been circulated among top government officials and predicted that the U.S.'s covert support of Syrian rebels would lead to the establishment of "a declared or undeclared Salafist principality in Eastern Syria." The memo went on to say that the U.S. desired the creation of an Islamic State because it would further weaken Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Flynn said "the [Obama] administration" did not "listen" to these warnings issues by his agency. "I don't know if they turned a blind eye. I think it was a decision. I think it was a willful decision."

http://www.hngn.com/articles/110533...e-terrorists-killing-suggests-retired-dia.htm

That's a shocking revelation if true!

I wouldn't get too excited about it yet. Have a read of this:

This is an early August 2012 field report to the Defense Intelligence Agency, known in the trade as an Intelligence Information Report or IIR. As it states clearly, this is an “information report, not finally evaluated intelligence.” Its contents are deemed explosive by those seeking explosions. According to outraged observers online, this DIA IIR is “proof” that “the Pentagon” and “the Intelligence Community” knew more about the rise of the Islamic State than they let on. At best, they’re fools; at worst, they’re deceivers who have lied to the American people.

It’s time for a reality check. Having written my share of IIRs, let me explain a few things to you. First off, this report, which is classified SECRET/NOFORN (i.e. it’s far from “highly classified”) is so heavily redacted that it’s difficult to say much meaningful about it. Who filed this IIR has been taken out, and its distribution list (at least what we can see of it) is the usual alphabet soup of DoD and IC headquarters and agencies. Nothing special here, not one bit.

As for the pronouncements in this IIR, which are taken as highly meaningful by the conspiracy-minded, they are routine, the sort of thing found in the thousands of IIRs that DIA generates annually, on a wide range of subjects. Is this the take of a U.S. defense attaché somewhere in the Middle East, and therefore a reflection of his/her personal views only? Is this the rant of someone who claims good access, who may (or may not) have that? Are these the ramblings of a partner security service — in other words, glorified hall gossip — that an attaché felt obliged to report back in that mixture of “FYI” and “CYA” that dominates inside the Beltway? Given the heavy redactions, it’s simply impossible to say.

What we can say with certainty, however, is that this IIR is not the view of “the Defense Intelligence Agency” or “the Pentagon,” much less “the Intelligence Community.” The IC is a sprawling enterprise of seventeen different agencies, some of which don’t play well with each other. Plus, not to put too fine a point on this, DIA isn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the IC shed, being viewed as a bit of an also-ran by CIA and NSA, who are the Big Dogs of American intelligence in terms of mission, budgets, and prestige.

This is but one IIR, whose provenance we know basically nothing about. Don’t read too much into it. There is nothing conspiratorial here to those who understand the IC. Raw intelligence like this is often wide of the mark, and DIA’s reputation here is less than stellar. Has everybody forgotten about CURVEBALL so soon?

I am pretty critical of the Obama administration’s policy towards the Islamic State, as I’ve written about many times, and it’s clear that calling them the “JV team” was a stupid mistake. As I’ve reported, there has been robust debate inside the Pentagon and the Intelligence Community for several years about what the Islamic State exactly is, and what should be done about, and it’s safe to say that most of DoD and the IC today are out of step with the White House’s soft-touch approach to its pseudo-war against this virulent and fanatical enemy.

This lone IIR is but a single data point that serious analysts will not get worked up over, as opposed to those who have ideological axes to grind, to say nothing of the tinfoil-hat brigade. After 9/11, the Intelligence Community was exhorted to “connect the dots” better. I would caution all to observe that this is a mere dot, one whose provenance and reliability we do not know.

http://20committee.com/2015/05/26/a-brief-intelligence-reality-check/

Obviously with the way things have panned out in Syria, it's very temping to see it all as guided by an American hand. But that assumes that the US is powerful enough to ensure that events move in exactly the way it wants to. These days, I assume quite the opposite. Furthermore, it ignores evidence to the contrary, e.g. pretty much as soon as Jabhat al-Nusra announced itself in Syria in late 2011/early 2012, the Americans very publicly designated them a terrorist group obviously linked to the Islamic State in Iraq (this was before they split) - a move which, I might mention, was met with protest from almost all of the significant opposition groups fighting Assad at the time.

 

[Kaos]

I wouldn't get too excited about it yet. Have a read of this:



Obviously with the way things have panned out in Syria, it's very temping to see it all as guided by an American hand. But that assumes that the US is powerful enough to ensure that events move in exactly the way it wants to. These days, I assume quite the opposite. Furthermore, it ignores evidence to the contrary, e.g. pretty much as soon as Jabhat al-Nusra announced itself in Syria in late 2011/early 2012, the Americans very publicly designated them a terrorist group obviously linked to the Islamic State in Iraq (this was before they split) - a move which, I might mention, was met with protest from almost all of the significant opposition groups fighting Assad at the time.

Official diplomacy and covert operations very rarely align.

 

[Red Defence]

No offence caused, because you're exactly right.

If you look at the Medinat Surahs, which tend to be more legislative and descriptive, and more to do with governance, you can see how rules are meant to be implemented, and how these are to form a harmonious society. Especially, if you delve further and look at the hadith and tafsir of many of these verses, anyone can tell that IS are just a severe perversion of what's written.

So if I can see that, as just a British non-Muslim struggling through a heavy book, the text of which is completely new to me, why can't others see it too. Is the pull of power, brutality, murder and abuse a stronger pull to them than the truth of the Quran?

 

[Grinner]

What's this about the Turkish Air Force hitting Kurds in Iraq?

 

[MUFAN79]

What's this about the Turkish Air Force hitting Kurds in Iraq?

I get the feeling the reason for bombing ISIS targets is to have an alibi for bombing the Kurds, which are the ones Erdogan is really after.

 

[Kaos]

I get the feeling the reason for bombing ISIS targets is to have an alibi for bombing the Kurds, which are the ones Erdogan is really after.

Spot on.

 

[Raoul]

Sounds like the Turks mean business. They are even allowing the US to use Incirlik to launch bombing runs into Syria.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/24/middleeast/turkey-syria-isis-violence/

 

[barros]

Flynn also publicly commented for the first time on a previously classified Aug. 2012 DIA memo, which was recently obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request and reported on by HNGN. The memo had been circulated among top government officials and predicted that the U.S.'s covert support of Syrian rebels would lead to the establishment of "a declared or undeclared Salafist principality in Eastern Syria." The memo went on to say that the U.S. desired the creation of an Islamic State because it would further weaken Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Flynn said "the [Obama] administration" did not "listen" to these warnings issues by his agency. "I don't know if they turned a blind eye. I think it was a decision. I think it was a willful decision."

http://www.hngn.com/articles/110533...e-terrorists-killing-suggests-retired-dia.htm

So the Europeans should ship all the refugees to US since they created the problem

 

[Kaos]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/27/turkey-shells-kurdish-held-village-in-syria

So the Turks who've idly watched ISIS from across the border are now carrying out airstrikes and shelling attacks on the very Kurds who serve as the main fighting force against ISIS in Syria and Northern Iraq. Erdogan might as well raise that black flag in Ankara

@Uzz hows that Saudi-Turkey-Qatar Sunni union coming along? They must have missed the memo that Kurds are Sunnis.

 

[sun_tzu]

So the Europeans should ship all the refugees to US since they created the problem

Trump would nuke us if we tried that...
Actually has he proposed nuking the middle east yet - I imagine that's 33% of his foreign policy (33% restarting the cold war, 33% kicking off with China and 1% digging a moat filled with shark mounted lasers between usa and Mexico)