U.S. Aircraft Strike ISIS Targets in Iraq

[Shattered]

This is all just another example of how Religion ruins everything.
A bunch of people in the desert fighting over who can hear the magic voice in their ear clearer than the next guy.

So ridiculous, on so many levels.

[Sithara007]

This is all just another example of how Religion ruins everything.

Don't blame all the religions. Some religions are pacifist, while some are not.

[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.

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

Moderate Muslims have to stand up to ISIS or ISIS may even destroy the Kaaba. Does Maliki use Twitter? Maybe The Regime can start a new hashtag and that will get him to step down .I bet that will work. You could get a job in the admin for that one.

[kuroman]

This is all just another example of how Religion ruins everything.
A bunch of people in the desert fighting over who can hear the magic voice in their ear clearer than the next guy.

So ridiculous, on so many levels.

Can you explain how is this a religion fault? you have some psychopaths using religion to justify their crimes as any other criminal did does in history, finding an excuse for their crimes.

Moderate Muslims have to stand up to ISIS or ISIS may even destroy the Kaaba. Does Maliki use Twitter? Maybe The Regime can start a new hashtag and that will get him to step down .I bet that will work. You could get a job in the admin for that one.

Due geopolitical reasons outside intervention from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrein, Kuweit ect is not possible or at least directly due to previous conflicts with Iraq, and more importantly due Iran influence in current Iraq. Also the US will not let such a thing happen, the only way for other countries to intervene and they asked for it in current case of Libya which is turning to be a second Iraq is trough UN and UN keeping force

[noviapriani]

1.) President Obama absolutely should not have bombed ISIS when they entered Iraq. That would have only made them stronger in the long run on an ideological level where they are currently, the weakest. A ground expansion can be afforded, and contained, ideological spread is much harder to reign in.

2.) Moderate Muslims have always fought against AQI, ISI, ISIS, and now IS. They have also fought on their side as well. Most fighters that are "invading" Iraq aren't religious radicals, nor are they IS.

3.) Twitter is relied upon heavily by terrorist and militant organizations like the Taliban, the IS, Al Nusra, AQAP, Boko Haram, and Al Shabaab. Ignoring or downplaying the presence of Jihadis in these spaces to try to engage in domestic petty politicking is rather douchey, and intellectually dishonest.

[umair127]

People blame Maliki as if his 'sins' justify what ISIS are doing. Wahhabism is the root of the problem. It's politics. Give them time to commit their atrocities, so the US will look like the great saviour.That being said, I fully support any country that will bomb these fucks out of existence.

[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.

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.

Moderate Muslims have to stand up to ISIS or ISIS may even destroy the Kaaba. Does Maliki use Twitter? Maybe The Regime can start a new hashtag and that will get him to step down .I bet that will work. You could get a job in the admin for that one.

Your comment was dumb, not because I think you lack for intelligence, but rather because it was obvious that you made it in the absence of any knowledge of what is going on in Iraq. Simply put, you literally don't know what you're talking about.

[bryant.coleman]

People blame Maliki as if his 'sins' justify what ISIS are doing. Wahhabism is the root of the problem. It's politics. Give them time to commit their atrocities, so the US will look like the great saviour.That being said, I fully support any country that will bomb these fucks out of existence.

Al Maliki himself is part of the problem. His ultra-bias towards the Shiite Arabs forced at least a section of the Sunni Arabs to ally with the ISIS and to extract revenge (even those who are secular, such as the supporters of the Ba'ath party). Wahabbism is the root problem, but ISIS would have never grown this big without the extreme incompetence from Nouri Al Maliki.

[kuroman]

People blame Maliki as if his 'sins' justify what ISIS are doing. Wahhabism is the root of the problem. It's politics. Give them time to commit their atrocities, so the US will look like the great saviour.That being said, I fully support any country that will bomb these fucks out of existence.

Malikis faults here is that he actually to prosecute and mistreated or at least didn't do his job to protect Sunnis, Sunnis in Iraq became second class citizen after Shiites took control hence creating tensions in the country this obviously facilitated the access of ISIS into Iraq, not only that but I think the fact that the country getting split is also his fault in part (I don't know if Kurds deserves their country or not as I'm literate enough on their history) and providing no proper defense to his people.

ISIS are doing whatever sense, in Iraq while even Lebanon is dealing with them without a proper heck even Hezbollah has no problem to deal with them which is a prove that it doesn't require much to deal with them.

[dKingston]

1.) President Obama absolutely should not have bombed ISIS when they entered Iraq. That would have only made them stronger in the long run on an ideological level where they are currently, the weakest. A ground expansion can be afforded, and contained, ideological spread is much harder to reign in.

He should have had US forces intervene when the ISIS started to be more then a small nuisance. It was several weeks that the ISIS was fighting until they started making serious headway in taking over most of Iraq. From the time they took over a few cities to the time they took over most of the country was a very short amount of time as the Iraqi military was ill prepared.

[Chef Ramsay]

U.S. Actions in Iraq Fueled Rise of a Rebel
Baghdadi of ISIS Pushes an Islamist Crusade

BAGHDAD — When American forces raided a home near Falluja during the turbulent 2004 offensive against the Iraqi Sunni insurgency, they got the hard-core militants they had been looking for. They also picked up an apparent hanger-on, an Iraqi man in his early 30s whom they knew nothing about.

The Americans duly registered his name as they processed him and the others at the Camp Bucca detention center: Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim al-Badry.

That once-peripheral figure has become known to the world now as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-appointed caliph of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and the architect of its violent campaign to redraw the map of the Middle East.

“He was a street thug when we picked him up in 2004,” said a Pentagon official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. “It’s hard to imagine we could have had a crystal ball then that would tell us he’d become head of ISIS.”

At every turn, Mr. Baghdadi’s rise has been shaped by the United States’ involvement in Iraq — most of the political changes that fueled his fight, or led to his promotion, were born directly from some American action. And now he has forced a new chapter of that intervention, after ISIS’ military successes and brutal massacres of minorities in its advance prompted President Obama to order airstrikes in Iraq.

More...http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/11/world/middleeast/us-actions-in-iraq-fueled-rise-of-a-rebel.html

Was going to start another thread but thought I'd tuck this one in here.

[noviapriani]

People blame Maliki as if his 'sins' justify what ISIS are doing. Wahhabism is the root of the problem. It's politics. Give them time to commit their atrocities, so the US will look like the great saviour.That being said, I fully support any country that will bomb these fucks out of existence.

Considering the IS hates Saudi Arabia, simply blaming Wahhabism is a bit reductionist, and not very accurate. And yes, Maliki is a large part of the current problem. the IS aren't the majority actors in this fighting and Maliki had a direct role in killing the momentum of the Awakening movement against Al Qaeda.

[noviapriani]

This doesn't have anything to do with our hesitancy in the subject. With a deeply sectarian and divisive leader of Iraq (Maliki) it isn't a good tactic to promote said individual when the IS garners most of its support by relying on that sectarian imagery and threat from Maliki.

[umair127]

This doesn't have anything to do with our hesitancy in the subject. With a deeply sectarian and divisive leader of Iraq (Maliki) it isn't a good tactic to promote said individual when the IS garners most of its support by relying on that sectarian imagery and threat from Maliki.

How will ISIS get support when it is threatening to destroy the Kaaba?

I do not defend Al Qaeda, or anything like that, but Al Qaeda disagrees with ISIS because they say that if they are not at war with someone or being invaded by someone, like the Yazidis, or the Iraqi Christians, then they leave them alone. Also, Al Qaeda wants to take the Kaaba from Saudi Arabia but they do not support destroying it the way some members of ISIS do. Also, ISIS is unnecessarily barbaric. Al Qaeda only believes in beheading those who they are at war with or who they feel is occupying their land. I'm not defending Al Qaeda, but ISIS is even too extreme for Al Qaeda.

[noviapriani]

This doesn't have anything to do with our hesitancy in the subject. With a deeply sectarian and divisive leader of Iraq (Maliki) it isn't a good tactic to promote said individual when the IS garners most of its support by relying on that sectarian imagery and threat from Maliki.

How will ISIS get support when it is threatening to destroy the Kaaba?

I do not defend Al Qaeda, or anything like that, but Al Qaeda disagrees with ISIS because they say that if they are not at war with someone or being invaded by someone, like the Yazidis, or the Iraqi Christians, then they leave them alone. Also, Al Qaeda wants to take the Kaaba from Saudi Arabia but they do not support destroying it the way some members of ISIS do. Also, ISIS is unnecessarily barbaric. Al Qaeda only believes in beheading those who they are at war with or who they feel is occupying their land. I'm not defending Al Qaeda, but ISIS is even too extreme for Al Qaeda.

It isn't currently relying on theological support. It is relying on the fact that the Maliki government is viewed as a hostile government to Iraqi Sunnis and represents itself as the means for which Iraqi Sunnis can protect themselves from said hostile government. It has essentially tapped into that sectarian argument and political oppression to organize and direct Sunni Tribal groupings and former Saddam loyalists against the Maliki government. Most fighters attacking the government are not members of ISIS.

[umair127]

And I only think Maliki is disliked by Sunnis because he is a Shia. I do not find him divisive. I just think being a Shia makes it harder for him to get respect from Sunnis.

[noviapriani]

Al Qaeda disagrees with the ISIS on a number of things. One of the big ones is sectarianism (which al Qaeda's ideological old guard is against). They also disagree with the formation of Islamic states, preferring instead to work towards a greater caliphate (through the establishment of emirates). It may sound like splitting hairs, but it has big theological implications as well. They also disagree strongly on who should lead a future Islamic caliphate with Al Qaeda supporting Muhammad Omar of the Taliban while the IS supports Baghdadi.

[Alphi]

This is all just another example of how Religion ruins everything.

Don't blame all the religions. Some religions are pacifist, while some are not.

that's true.. but even the pacifist religions can be corrupted to meet a political agenda..

and its not just religions either its a problem with all ideologies.

[umair127]

Al Qaeda disagrees with the ISIS on a number of things. One of the big ones is sectarianism (which al Qaeda's ideological old guard is against). They also disagree with the formation of Islamic states, preferring instead to work towards a greater caliphate (through the establishment of emirates). It may sound like splitting hairs, but it has big theological implications as well. They also disagree strongly on who should lead a future Islamic caliphate with Al Qaeda supporting Muhammad Omar of the Taliban while the IS supports Baghdadi.

It is a big mistake for Iraqi Sunnis to support ISIS. They are supporting barbarians.

Yes, Al Qaeda is against sectarianism. And yes, Al Qaeda wants a Caliphate from Morocco through Pakistan. Israel is interfering with that dream of a greater Caliphate. ISIS had better be careful not to tick off Israel because Israel may launch airstrikes against ISIS in Syria.

The U.S. should continue airstrikes against ISIS. They should attack ISIS positions in Syria as well.

I would rather have Assad in power in Syria rather than ISIS. I think Shias are more moderate than radical Sunnis; which I think is obvious.

[noviapriani]

Al Qaeda disagrees with the ISIS on a number of things. One of the big ones is sectarianism (which al Qaeda's ideological old guard is against). They also disagree with the formation of Islamic states, preferring instead to work towards a greater caliphate (through the establishment of emirates). It may sound like splitting hairs, but it has big theological implications as well. They also disagree strongly on who should lead a future Islamic caliphate with Al Qaeda supporting Muhammad Omar of the Taliban while the IS supports Baghdadi.

It is a big mistake for Iraqi Sunnis to support ISIS. They are supporting barbarians.

Yes, Al Qaeda is against sectarianism. And yes, Al Qaeda wants a Caliphate from Morocco through Pakistan. Israel is interfering with that dream of a greater Caliphate. ISIS had better be careful not to tick off Israel because Israel may launch airstrikes against ISIS in Syria.

The U.S. should continue airstrikes against ISIS. They should attack ISIS positions in Syria as well.

I would rather have Assad in power in Syria rather than ISIS. I think Shias are more moderate than radical Sunnis; which I think is obvious.

They are supporting their own protection (in their eyes). They actively fought AQI during the Awakening and were rewarded with a discriminatory state government. Many don't even like the ISIS but figure that they'll deal with Baghdadi after Maliki has been taken care of, others are coerced via threats to cooperate.