generalspeaking

The Viral Popularity of Islamic State

"Al-Qaida core and ISIS pursue similar strategic goals, albeit with tactical differences regarding sequencing and substantive differences about personal leadership."
"Lack of social media message discipline [in Isis points to a leadership] that recognizes the terror and recruitment value of multichannel, multi-language social and other media messaging [reflecting a younger and] more international [membership than al-Qaida’s various affiliates]."
"Numbers since 2010 are now many times the size of the cumulative numbers of foreign terrorist fighters between 1990 and 2010 -- and are growing."
"There are instances of foreign terrorist fighters from France, the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland operating together."
UN report on jihad in al-Qaeda and Islamic State

The US Central Intelligence Agency last month announced figures showing that there were around 20,000 to 31,500 Islamic State fighters active in Iraq and Syria, much higher than previous estimates. It was estimated that close to two thousand westerners were among the 15,000 foreign fighters now among Islamic State. And where previously figures had shown 7,000 foreign jihadists in March growing to 12,000 in July, the launch of U.S. and allied air strikes three months ago hasn't stopped an estimated flow of 1,000 monthly recruits travelling to the conflict.

What the United Nations is in agreement with on the Obama administration's estimates is that the "core al-Qaeda remains weak", in itself seemingly positive news, but more than offset by the reality of its weakening has led the way for more brutally bloody groups to arise in triumph in a swift ascension of "cross-border attacks -- or attacks against international targets" which, while yet remaining a minority, is steadily growing in influence and lethality. ISIS militias have embarked on a killing spree of Sunni Iraqis who challenge their mission.
Those Sunnis in Iraq who are identified as having been involved in the Northern Awakening Councils allied with U.S. Forces in Iraq are now being isolated and slaughtered in a designed strategy to remove them from ever challenging the primacy and growing strength of the Sunni Islamist ISIS whose ferociously bloody campaigns have raised objections from many Iraqi Sunnis. The campaign of extermination is not only directed against the Yazidis, Christians, Shiites and Kurds but insufficiently Islamist Sunnis as well.

The Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham continues to advance in Syria and Iraq, and this despite over 600 coalition air strikes meant to deter and destroy that advance. The total number of foreign fighters is thought now to have gone well over 15,000, according to a UN Security Council estimation. Most of the jihadists still arrive from the Middle East and North Africa, but thousands emanate compulsively from European countries with their passports allowing them return to their European home countries.

Although Western governments, alert now to the prospective dangers the future may bring on the return of those fighters who have gained experience on the battlefield and with heightened resolve to continued jihad, have attempted to stem the flow, the measures undertaken haven't yet been assessed with respect to viability and outcome. "It could take some time for the dampening effect of these measures to start showing up in the foreign-fighter intelligence estimates" according to U.S. intelligence officials.

The death toll from coalition air strikes in Syria alone are estimated to be in the 460 range for ISIS fighters. Despite which the organization is continuing to grow apace, its finances coming in by a reported $1-million daily from oil revenues and support of wealthy jihad-supporting Islamists, and through a revenue stream resulting from kidnapping of foreigners for ransom from those governments who will pay such ransoms.

Currently, the U.S.-led aerial bombardment of Kobani, on the border with Turkey, has prepared the way for an influx of 150 heavily armed Kurdish Peshmerga reinforcements from Iraq, permitted to enter Kobani from the Turkish border near the town of Suruc where Kobani's refugees have gathered. They follow an estimated 200 fighters from the Free Syrian Army who were enabled to enter the town earlier in the week by Turkey which insists that the battle for Kobani must be led by the Syrian Free Army, not the Kurds.

Labels: Islamic State, Jihadists, Syria, United Nations, United States

posted by Pieface @ Monday, November 03, 2014