This should (hopefully) dispel any remaining doubt about the so-called "religion of peace".
Much of this horrendous violence is sectarian -- the Sunnis versus the Shi'ites; you may think there is no difference in principle between this and Latin American street gangs waging war on each other -- and there isn't. The problem is that it threatens not just national but regional stability in an economically important part of the world.
Much of this horrendous violence is sectarian -- the Sunnis versus the Shi'ites; you may think there is no difference in principle between this and Latin American street gangs waging war on each other -- and there isn't. The problem is that it threatens not just national but regional stability in an economically important part of the world.
The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) has developed a detailed reporting system in which it measures its "progress" in conquering territory and attacking its enemies.
Research by the US-based Institute for the Study of War shows that the group described its battle for control of Mosul and the surrounding area as its main effort in the second consecutive annual report published in March. The group swooped on Mosul last week and has pushed the Iraqi security forces out of a vast swathe of northern Iraq.
The report, called al-Naba (the News), says the group of gangsters carried out 1,083 assassinations and perpetrated 4,465 car bomb attacks in Iraq in 2013 alone. Overall there were almost 10,000 operations carried out by Isis during the year in Iraq alone, although it also expanded rapidly in Syria in that year.
This is interesting. The West is using 'Chess' strategies. The East, the rebels, and the rest are using 'Go' strategies.
ReplyDeleteCheckers = Indiscriminate fire bomb.
Chess = Taking out key plays & pieces to force the king into submission (you never actually kill the king, just get him to do what you want).
Go = Focusing on land, resource, and economic space acquisition.
Go strategy is how we were defeated in Vietnam... :-(