Why Are Sunni Arabs Supporting And Fighting For The Islamic State

Inside The Mind Of An ISIS Fighter -- Arwa Damon and Holly Yan, CNN

(CNN) -- To the outside world, they're a force of ruthless yet mysterious insurgents bent on terrorizing civilians and expanding Islamist rule.

But as one former ISIS fighter tells CNN, the mentality goes much deeper.

"The main and principal goal of the Islamic State that they tell their new members is to establish an Islamic state that will encompass the Arab world," the man said in Turkey. "And after that, we go to other countries."

Just two weeks ago, the man was in Raqqa, the ISIS stronghold in northern Syria. Like many cities across Syria and Iraq, Raqqa has been overrun by ISIS militants who show no mercy for those who don't follow their hard line.

Read more ....

Update #1: Why Is ISIS So Brutal? -- Frida Ghitis, CNN
Update #2: In northeast Syria, Islamic State builds a government -- Reuters

My Comment: It's all about religion .... and in this case .... a very extremist view of Sunni Islam. The Islamic State is now rooted in the region .... and taking them out will involve the mobilization of a massive army, the expectation of high casualties, the expenditure of tens of billions of dollars (if not more), and when the fighting is over .... the need to station thousands of soldiers to keep the peace. Faced with such a prospect .... it is easy to predict that no one is going to be interested in getting involved .... certainly not the West.

Update #3: The White House has a more optimistic view .... WH: Coalition against ISIS starting to form(The Hill).