Militant Islamist fighters in military vehicles parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. (Reuters)
Patrick Cockburn, The Independent: Isis fighter reveals group's plan to spread even after defeat in Iraq and Syria and claims collusion with Turkey
Isis will flourish and survive even if it is defeated in the present battle for Syria and Iraq an Isis militant has told The Independent.
In an exclusive interview, Faraj, a 30-year-old veteran fighter from north east Syria, says that “when we say that the Islamic State [Isis] is everlasting and expanding, it is not a mere poetic or propaganda phrase”. He says the group intends to rebuild its strength in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, adding that “Isis has sleeper agents all over the world and their numbers are increasing”.
In his account of his life in Isis, Faraj makes plain that only a year after the caliphate was declared in the wake of the capture of Mosul in 2014, its leaders could foresee that it might be overrun militarily. He reveals hitherto unknown details of the apparent close cooperation between Isis and Turkey and the degree to which foreign fighters who flooded into Syria to fight for Isis alienated local people from the movement by ordering them about and interfering in their lives.
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WNU Editor: Sighhh .... if even half of what he says is true, this is going to be a very long war.
3 comments:
True or not it will be long. This war is an ideological one first. As long as we don't fight that it will never stop.
Indeed, this is a VERY tough enemy. I've been patiently pointing this out for a long time.
Had the leadership recognized how tough this enemy is early on rather than insisting it is some sort of "Jay Vee" team perhaps it could have been defeated early on. We will probably never know.
There are probably only two optikns at this point. 1.) Put together a massive invasion force to invade and occupy the entire Middle East and, in time, change the culture. The costs of doing this in terms of loss of life and financial resources would be enormous. Again, this is a VERY tough enemy and there's some doubt as to whether any "wsetern" military power or combination of them are capable of doing something like this. 2.) Try and "wall this off" keeping it contained in the Middle East. Such would entail cutting off all entry and exit points to the Middle East as well as monitoring all communication to and from these countries.
Neither option is particularly appealing and both are fraught with risks. I'm pretty sure neither option is "humane." Option 2 appears to be the least bad option with the best chance of success. As such, this is option that I think should be the one that should be pursued.
I have option 3: Try to give them real prosperity and peace.
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