Robert Fulford: Meet ISIS, the most dangerous terrorist group in the world Republish Reprint September 6, 2014 7:43 AM ET More from Robert Fulford Wealth makes the Islamic State unique among terrorist gangs: It doesn’t need to beg Qatar or Turkey for cash to buy guns. The emergence of terrorism in a new form has sent tremors of anxiety around the globe. ISIS, the self-proclaimed Islamic state and caliphate, has redefined the meaning of terror by combining relentless barbarism with military skill, religious bigotry, unprecedented affluence and the shrewd use of video and social media. Why is ISIS beheading Americans? Five reasons for the terror group’s horrific provocation towards the U.S. As I noted in my last post, it’s a little hard to figure out ISIS’s strategy following its second videotaped execution of an American citizen in less than a month. Over the last two years, the group has shown impressive strategic acumen, growing into the world’s wealthiest terrorist group and something close to a viable theocratic state. It has achieved those aims via a strategy of gaining and consolidating control within Iraq and Syria—two of the world’s most unstable states—while, unlike al-Qaida, avoiding action that would provoke a major U.S. response. Why is it now carrying out very public killings that seem designed to provoke an escalation of U.S. military involvement in Iraq, and maybe even in Syria? The fate of al-Qaida over the last 13 years doesn’t seem like a wise model to follow. But here are a few possible explanations for what ISIS higher-ups are thinking. Continue reading… In Syria and Iraq, it has captured territory occupied by about 8-million people. If it holds those lands, its rise will be the most significant revision of Middle East geography since national borders were set after the First World War. ISIS already has altered the status of Barack Obama, whose policy has been to reduce American engagement in foreign nations. With ISIS proudly decapitating U.S. citizens on video and slaughtering its Shia captives by the hundreds, Obama’s supporters are demanding that he deal with this menace. A Washington Post writer even calls it “the defining crisis of his presidency.” His advisers are groping for a handhold, though Obama apparently doesn’t know whether to obliterate ISIS or make it a manageable problem. The U.S. Senate, once a source of foreign-policy wisdom, is busy fighting a mid-term election that will likely change its leadership from Democrat to Republican. In Britain, the government will cancel the passports of British citizens (perhaps as many as 500 of them) who are enlisting with ISIS. NATO feels called upon to awaken. Across the Middle East, ISIS has spread fear in every government. Turkey’s border with Syria, often used by ISIS volunteers, makes it vulnerable to attack. The Saudis have expressed fear that ISIS will not spare them despite their shared Sunni allegiance. Only three years ago the Arab Spring briefly promised a shift toward democracy. Instead, it produced more dictatorships and then reignited the deadly struggle between Sunni and Shiite. There’s a bitter irony in the location of the ISIS killing ground — the Fertile Crescent, the region often called the cradle of civilization. This is where science, education and unfettered trade developed into Arab values before they were Europe’s. The first cities sprang to life there, maintaining a dynamic and creative pluralism for centuries.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 09:34:16 +0000
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