U.S. Aircraft Strike ISIS Targets in Iraq

[Ron~Popeil]

This is a mess we created. A little foresight could have avoided this but getting our troops out of the country was apparently more important than maintaining a stable situation. Our foreign policy is so ham handed.

[umair127]

ISIS is terrible. They have a habit of beheading people and literally crucifying Christians.Good thing we are spending millions of dollars to bomb millions in tanks and apcs that we paid for.

[noviapriani]

ISIS is terrible. They have a habit of beheading people and literally crucifying Christians.Good thing we are spending millions of dollars to bomb millions in tanks and apcs that we paid for.

The senior staff in all the companies of the defense industry must be walking around with giant raging erections. Its the ideal scenario for them.

[Rigon]

Will have to see where it goes. Mission creep is always a big possibility, but for now President Obama seems to want to keep any engagement very limited and doesn't want to be seen as taking the offensive for the Iraqi government or Kurds.

[Alphi]

Will have to see where it goes. Mission creep is always a big possibility,

mission creep a possibility? how long did George bush say this war in Iraq was going to take? 6 months? how long ago was that?  lolz

the problem is that politicians never have any long term vision. Obama was happy to keep kicking george bush's can down the road as long as the proverbial sh*t didn't hit the fan.

[noviapriani]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...n_5547635.html

Reported ISIS Member Says They Will Destroy The Kaaba In Mecca, 'Kill Those Who Worship Stones' [UPDATE]

UPDATE 4:14 PM--
The Twitter account https://twitter.com/nm8smyh, which sent the original message, has been suspended. The authenticity of the account as belonging to an ISIS member has not been verified.

A reported member of the militant group Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), which recently dubbed itself simply as The Islamic State, has declared that they will destroy the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, which is Islam's most holy site.

APA quoted alleged ISIS member Abu Turab Al Mugaddasi based on reports from Turkish media, who said on Twitter:

If Allah wills, we will kill those who worship stones in Mecca and destroy the Kaaba. People go to Mecca to touch the stones, not for Allah.
ISIS reportedly is planning to take over the city of Arar in Saudi Arabia, which is very close to the Iraq border. It is a fifteen-hour drive away from Mecca, the site of the Hajj pilgrimage which all observant Muslims are expected to do at least once.

If indeed the statement is from an ISIS member, it's a shocking one even for them, considering that ISIS has been attempting to increase recruitment from Muslims worldwide by declaring the restoration of an Islamic Caliphate.

According to John L. Esposito, Professor of Religion and International Affairs and of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, "In terms of legitimacy- unless you're someone who's ready to join a terrorist group at this point, for the vast majority of Muslims there is no legitimacy with this group." This most recent threat reinforces Esposito's point, particularly as it comes during the holy month of Ramadan.

This piece has been updated to reflect the lack of authentication behind the reported tweet.

[Ron~Popeil]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...n_5547635.html

Reported ISIS Member Says They Will Destroy The Kaaba In Mecca, 'Kill Those Who Worship Stones' [UPDATE]

UPDATE 4:14 PM--
The Twitter account https://twitter.com/nm8smyh, which sent the original message, has been suspended. The authenticity of the account as belonging to an ISIS member has not been verified.

A reported member of the militant group Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), which recently dubbed itself simply as The Islamic State, has declared that they will destroy the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, which is Islam's most holy site.

APA quoted alleged ISIS member Abu Turab Al Mugaddasi based on reports from Turkish media, who said on Twitter:

If Allah wills, we will kill those who worship stones in Mecca and destroy the Kaaba. People go to Mecca to touch the stones, not for Allah.
ISIS reportedly is planning to take over the city of Arar in Saudi Arabia, which is very close to the Iraq border. It is a fifteen-hour drive away from Mecca, the site of the Hajj pilgrimage which all observant Muslims are expected to do at least once.

If indeed the statement is from an ISIS member, it's a shocking one even for them, considering that ISIS has been attempting to increase recruitment from Muslims worldwide by declaring the restoration of an Islamic Caliphate.

According to John L. Esposito, Professor of Religion and International Affairs and of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, "In terms of legitimacy- unless you're someone who's ready to join a terrorist group at this point, for the vast majority of Muslims there is no legitimacy with this group." This most recent threat reinforces Esposito's point, particularly as it comes during the holy month of Ramadan.

This piece has been updated to reflect the lack of authentication behind the reported tweet.

Wow if that is accurate this could get really ugly. We definitely do not want to get dragged into fights between Muslim sects.

[RodeoX]

There is no such group as ISIS or ISIL. They are now just IS.
In any case, it should not be a surprise to anyone. We lost the war in Iraq then refused to help in Syria.  Now the the civil war is underway to determine the future of the region. Airstrikes are not going to do anything without trained and motivated ground fighters.
This should concern us. Members of IS have aspirations of a global caliphate base in Raqqa. It's not going to work, but they are going to hurt a lot of people before they lose.

[kuroman]

ISIS is terrible. They have a habit of beheading people and literally crucifying Christians.Good thing we are spending millions of dollars to bomb millions in tanks and apcs that we paid for.

The senior staff in all the companies of the defense industry must be walking around with giant raging erections. Its the ideal scenario for them.

Not yet, they are probably busy on the phone pushing and lobbying for a larger military operation so they can sell more arms, not only that but sell more to Iraqi goverment and all the proximity countries

[bryant.coleman]

There is no such group as ISIS or ISIL. They are now just IS.

The renaming of ISIS/L to IS makes clear of their true intentions. Their ultimate aim is to establish an Islamic Caliphate (al dawlah al islamīyah) all over the world. If someone thinks that they just want Islamic rule over Syria and Iraq, then they are grossly mistaken.

[Rigon]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...n_5547635.html

Reported ISIS Member Says They Will Destroy The Kaaba In Mecca, 'Kill Those Who Worship Stones' [UPDATE]

UPDATE 4:14 PM--
The Twitter account https://twitter.com/nm8smyh, which sent the original message, has been suspended. The authenticity of the account as belonging to an ISIS member has not been verified.

A reported member of the militant group Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), which recently dubbed itself simply as The Islamic State, has declared that they will destroy the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, which is Islam's most holy site.

APA quoted alleged ISIS member Abu Turab Al Mugaddasi based on reports from Turkish media, who said on Twitter:

If Allah wills, we will kill those who worship stones in Mecca and destroy the Kaaba. People go to Mecca to touch the stones, not for Allah.
ISIS reportedly is planning to take over the city of Arar in Saudi Arabia, which is very close to the Iraq border. It is a fifteen-hour drive away from Mecca, the site of the Hajj pilgrimage which all observant Muslims are expected to do at least once.

If indeed the statement is from an ISIS member, it's a shocking one even for them, considering that ISIS has been attempting to increase recruitment from Muslims worldwide by declaring the restoration of an Islamic Caliphate.

According to John L. Esposito, Professor of Religion and International Affairs and of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, "In terms of legitimacy- unless you're someone who's ready to join a terrorist group at this point, for the vast majority of Muslims there is no legitimacy with this group." This most recent threat reinforces Esposito's point, particularly as it comes during the holy month of Ramadan.

This piece has been updated to reflect the lack of authentication behind the reported tweet.

Wow if that is accurate this could get really ugly. We definitely do not want to get dragged into fights between Muslim sects.

I have been waiting for something like this to happen. A group of Savages to really take their savagery too far and want to destroy Mecca or even the Dome of the Rock.

Either way the other Savages will find a way to blame America or "Tha Jews" for it.

[Alphi]

Wow if that is accurate this could get really ugly. We definitely do not want to get dragged into fights between Muslim sects.

imo there just is no way that that tweet could be authentic.. an Islamic fundamentalist group that declares war against all of Islam has got to be one of the most absurd things I've ever heard.

chances are it is propaganda that was planted to stir up sectarian violence against ISIS in the region... but even if it is ISIS.. it will only serve to hasten their demise.  there is not a single regime on earth that can exist on fear and hatred alone without any external help.

[Alphi]

Either way the other Savages will find a way to blame America or "Tha Jews" for it.

if you think ISIS has nothing to do with US or Israeli foreign policy then you must be living under a rock.
there is even some suggestion in some parts of the media that ISIS were initially trained by the US and Mossad to fight the Assad regime... I do not know how credible those reports and they may very well be based on Iranian propaganda but it wouldn't surprise me at all if they turned out to be at least partially true.

I think only ed snowden has the real truth about how much the US and Isreal were involved so we have to wait to see what he shows the world.

here is some food for thought

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-how-us-involvement-in-iraq-shaped-the-rise-of-isis-leader/articleshow/40061144.cms

[Ron~Popeil]

Wow if that is accurate this could get really ugly. We definitely do not want to get dragged into fights between Muslim sects.

imo there just is no way that that tweet could be authentic.. an Islamic fundamentalist group that declares war against all of Islam has got to be one of the most absurd things I've ever heard.

chances are it is propaganda that was planted to stir up sectarian violence against ISIS in the region... but even if it is ISIS.. it will only serve to hasten their demise.  there is not a single regime on earth that can exist on fear and hatred alone without any external help.

I suspect so. The alternative is just too crazy. Maybe if accurate it is a good thing for Muslims to see how extreme this group is.

[sana8410]

What was this air strike conducted with? I thought they didn't have anything but Cessna's with bottle rockets.

[balanghai]

Maliki 'forced out' as Iraq's prime minister

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/11/nouri-al-maliki-iraq-forced-out-prime-minister

Iraq's embattled prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, appeared to have lost his job on Monday, after the country's president appointed a rival Shia candidate to form a new government.
In a major defeat for Maliki, Iraq's largest coalition of Shia political parties nominated Haider al-Abadi, a member of Maliki's Shia Islamist Dawa party, to take over as prime minister.

they should take it in turns and have 3 leaders run the country.. one sunni one shia and one kurd.
 that worked for the romans

This one works with Singapore too. 

[Rigon]

What was this air strike conducted with? I thought they didn't have anything but Cessna's with bottle rockets.

They have gathered a few MiG's over the last several years (some bought, others found in Serbia where Hussein sent them in the 80s for repairs and could never bring them back after sanctions were imposed), and more recently bought some Su-25s specifically for combating the ISIS forces.

Basically they have a bunch of 30-40 year old jets.

[noviapriani]

So basically they were lucky the aircraft itself wasn't the strike package. Too little, too late. He should have done this the minute they first started marching East across that wide open desert.

If we ever have to go back to Iraq, he owns that. And Maliki refusing to step down just makes things perfect.

[bryant.coleman]

What was this air strike conducted with? I thought they didn't have anything but Cessna's with bottle rockets.

A few weeks ago, the Iraqi Armed Forces purchased a few second hand Su-25 fighter jets from Belarus. A few were also sold by Russia. These jets are quite old ones, some were reportedly of the Soviet era. But that doesn't matter, as the ISIS is not armed with any SAM batteries. Let's hope that no 9K38 Igla or  9K31 Strela reaches their hands.

[umair127]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...n_5547635.html

Reported ISIS Member Says They Will Destroy The Kaaba In Mecca, 'Kill Those Who Worship Stones' [UPDATE]

UPDATE 4:14 PM--
The Twitter account https://twitter.com/nm8smyh, which sent the original message, has been suspended. The authenticity of the account as belonging to an ISIS member has not been verified.

A reported member of the militant group Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), which recently dubbed itself simply as The Islamic State, has declared that they will destroy the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, which is Islam's most holy site.

APA quoted alleged ISIS member Abu Turab Al Mugaddasi based on reports from Turkish media, who said on Twitter:

If Allah wills, we will kill those who worship stones in Mecca and destroy the Kaaba. People go to Mecca to touch the stones, not for Allah.
ISIS reportedly is planning to take over the city of Arar in Saudi Arabia, which is very close to the Iraq border. It is a fifteen-hour drive away from Mecca, the site of the Hajj pilgrimage which all observant Muslims are expected to do at least once.

If indeed the statement is from an ISIS member, it's a shocking one even for them, considering that ISIS has been attempting to increase recruitment from Muslims worldwide by declaring the restoration of an Islamic Caliphate.

According to John L. Esposito, Professor of Religion and International Affairs and of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, "In terms of legitimacy- unless you're someone who's ready to join a terrorist group at this point, for the vast majority of Muslims there is no legitimacy with this group." This most recent threat reinforces Esposito's point, particularly as it comes during the holy month of Ramadan.

This piece has been updated to reflect the lack of authentication behind the reported tweet.

Wow if that is accurate this could get really ugly. We definitely do not want to get dragged into fights between Muslim sects.

I have been waiting for something like this to happen. A group of Savages to really take their savagery too far and want to destroy Mecca or even the Dome of the Rock.

Either way the other Savages will find a way to blame America or "Tha Jews" for it.

And I've been waiting for moderate Muslims to stand up for themselves rather than join then or turn and run.