http://www.lrb.co.uk/v38/n05/patrick-co … -caliphate... Similar things are happening elsewhere in the region: people who have been smuggled out of Mosul say that the caliphate is buckling under military and economic pressure. Its enemies have captured Sinjar, Ramadi and Tikrit in Iraq and the YPG and the Syrian army are driving it back in Syria and are closing in on Raqqa. The ground forces attacking IS – the YPG, the Syrian army, Iraqi armed forces and Peshmerga – are all short of manpower (in the struggle for Ramadi the Iraqi military assault force numbered only 500 men), but they can call in devastating air strikes on any IS position. Since it was defeated at Kobani, IS has avoided set-piece battles and has not fought to the last man to defend any of its cities, though it has considered doing so in Raqqa and Mosul. The Pentagon, the Iraqi government and the Kurds exaggerate the extent of their victories over IS, but it is taking heavy losses and is isolated from the outside world with the loss of its last link to Turkey. The administrative and economic infrastructure of the caliphate is beginning to break under the strain of bombing and blockade. This is the impression given by people who left Mosul in early February and took refuge in Rojava.
Their journey wasn’t easy, since IS prohibits people from leaving the caliphate – it doesn’t want a mass exodus. Those who have got out report that IS is becoming more violent in enforcing fatwas and religious regulations. Ahmad, a 35-year-old trader from the al-Zuhour district of Mosul, where he owns a small shop, reported that ‘if somebody is caught who has shaved off his beard, he is given thirty lashes, while last year they would just arrest him for a few hours.’ The treatment of women in particular has got worse: ‘IS insists on women wearing veils, socks, gloves and loose or baggy clothes and, if she does not, the man with her will be lashed.’ Ahmad also said that living conditions have deteriorated sharply and the actions of IS officials become more arbitrary: ‘They take food without paying and confiscated much of my stock under the pretence of supporting the Islamic State militiamen. Everything is expensive and the stores are half-empty. The markets were crowded a year ago, but not for the last ten months because so many people have fled and those that have stayed are unemployed.’ There has been no mains electricity for seven months and everybody depends on private generators which run on locally refined fuel. This is available everywhere, but is expensive and of such poor quality that it works only for generators and not for cars – and the generators often break down. There is a shortage of drinking water. ‘Every ten days, we have water for two hours,’ Ahmad said. ‘The water we get from the tap is not clean, but we have to drink it.’ There is no mobile phone network and the internet is available only in internet cafés that are closely monitored by the authorities for sedition. There are signs of growing criminality and corruption, though this may mainly be evidence that IS is in desperate need of money. When Ahmad decided to flee he contacted one of many smugglers operating in the area between Mosul and the Syrian frontier. He said the cost for each individual smuggled into Rojava is between $400 and $500. ‘Many of the smugglers are IS men,’ he said, but he didn’t know whether the organisation’s leaders knew what was happening. They certainly know that there are increasing complaints about living conditions because they have cited a hadith, a saying of the Prophet, against such complaints. Those who violate the hadith are arrested and sent for re-education. Ahmad’s conclusion: ‘Dictators become very violent when they sense that their end is close.’
Last edited by uziq (2016-03-23 16:55:59)
Last edited by SuperJail Warden (2016-03-23 16:59:04)
I'm sure the people at GCHQ and MoD have figured something out.SuperJail Warden wrote:
Got any other ideas as to how to stop these terrorist bombings or can we at least try stopping the airstrikes?
You should come up with something. You have a chance of being killed when they bomb London.
why would we stop the airstrikes? what will it do to stop terrorism? i don't understand how you think terrorism works. terrorists are not mercenaries sent on missions because we are attacking the 'islamic state'. it's the flimsiest pretext.SuperJail Warden wrote:
Got any other ideas as to how to stop these terrorist bombings or can we at least try stopping the airstrikes?
You should come up with something. You have a chance of being killed when they bomb London.
huh? The ISIS terror attacks in the west started as a response to the the U.S. airstrikes in Iraq. The attacks have been getting worse and more frequent. as the IS started to lose territory. The Paris attack and probably this one was coordinated from Syria. It is obvious that the airstrikes are provoking a response. They even say it is revenge for airstrikes.uziq wrote:
why would we stop the airstrikes? what will it do to stop terrorism? i don't understand how you think terrorism works. terrorists are not mercenaries sent on missions because we are attacking the 'islamic state'. it's the flimsiest pretext.SuperJail Warden wrote:
Got any other ideas as to how to stop these terrorist bombings or can we at least try stopping the airstrikes?
You should come up with something. You have a chance of being killed when they bomb London.
What makes any of this sophisticated? The key piece of tech here is having someone willing\convinced to blow themselves up.SuperJail Warden wrote:
Large sophisticated ones coming from people returning from ISIS territory like the Paris and now Brussels attack? Yeah those would probably stop. Remember when Spain withdrew from Iraq coalition after the Madrid bombing? Hasn't been a terrorist attack in Spain since.
Europe has more of a problem due to fluid borders but none of the fighters that returned to aus weren't met with prosecution and continued surveillance.Jay wrote:
They're desperate. It's why they're lashing out with suicide bombers. They're all people who traveled to Syria. Need to stop letting them loose in society when they return.
Australia is an island in the middle of nowhere on the other side of the world. to get from the levant or Asia Minor to Europe is like taking your dog for a walk. but GG the Australian state you guys rule.Cybargs wrote:
Europe has more of a problem due to fluid borders but none of the fighters that returned to aus weren't met with prosecution and continued surveillance.Jay wrote:
They're desperate. It's why they're lashing out with suicide bombers. They're all people who traveled to Syria. Need to stop letting them loose in society when they return.
yes all the jews fault. no space for the muzzies right.Dilbert_X wrote:
You're all looking at the symptoms and immediate quick fixes.
The underlying issues need to be addressed.
The Islamics are convinced terrorism works.
The jews taught the muslims that terrorism gets results - you want your own state to practice your weird apartheid cult? Terrorism will deliver it to you. Slaughter who you like, steal what you want, its yours for the taking.
This worked fine for the jews in Palestine, and the Taliban in Afghanistan, neither country having oil so no-one cares, and neither indigenous population having the strength or aggression or organisation to resist.
Violence and aggression are normal parts of the political process.
America and other nations have used bombs and bullets to get their way in the world for the last 60 years, often in purely ideological wars, why is anyone surprised other people try it?
Look at Trump's antics, blanket statements based on ignorance and brutal policies are the norm now, the average person has absorbed this.
Asymmetric warfare works.
America was fought to costly stalemates in Korea, Vietnam, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan and isn't doing great in Syria. America can't win, the Islamics can't lose.
Their mistake has been to assume they can take over the world.
Our mistake has been to let them migrate by the millions.
From this point there is going to be no easy win, not with the steady radicalisation of 2nd and 3rd generation migrants, plus obviously those who got on a refugee boat straight from fighting in Syria or Libya.
Imposing a a reasonable solution on Palestine might take away some of the poison, probably too little too late now.
We're stuck with intelligence lead policing of people whose identity, nationality and background we don't even know.
Thank you Blair, Bush and Merkel, not forgetting Netanyahu and those who went before you - we're stuck with your shit now.
Naw, the shia/sunni will end up trying to kill each other anyway. Muslims end up killing more muslims than any other group.SuperJail Warden wrote:
He is right though. We sided with 5 million Israelites over the entire Muslim world and are paying for it. Israel's days are numbered anyway but they will try to take everyone down with them.
Which won't affect us so so what?Cybargs wrote:
Naw, the shia/sunni will end up trying to kill each other anyway. Muslims end up killing more muslims than any other group.SuperJail Warden wrote:
He is right though. We sided with 5 million Israelites over the entire Muslim world and are paying for it. Israel's days are numbered anyway but they will try to take everyone down with them.
I highly doubt the west's support of israel will stifle any terror attacks.Dilbert_X wrote:
Which won't affect us so so what?Cybargs wrote:
Naw, the shia/sunni will end up trying to kill each other anyway. Muslims end up killing more muslims than any other group.SuperJail Warden wrote:
He is right though. We sided with 5 million Israelites over the entire Muslim world and are paying for it. Israel's days are numbered anyway but they will try to take everyone down with them.
The Shia/Sunni antagonism has been fanned to distract the region from Israel and the West.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/18/politics/ … rter-iraq/(CNN)U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced Monday the United States will send 217 additional troops to Iraq to serve as advisers and trainers.
They will also offer aviation support and provide force protection, Carter said, during an unannounced visit to Iraq.
The U.S. will additionally provide Army Apache attack helicopters -- something the U.S. had been pushing for months in the face of resistance from the Iraqi government.
The new forces, which will raise the U.S. troop presence in Iraq to more than 4,000, will be allowed to advise at the battalion and brigade level, rather than be restricted to the division level, Carter said, which means they are closer to the front lines and at greater risk.
