Paris Attacks Amplify the Need to Defeat ISIS in the Middle East

Obama sounded defensive Monday as he faced reporters in Antalya, Turkey, where he was attending a G-20 summit that ended up being dominated by the Paris attacks. For example, they misrepresent or misunderstand what the Islamic State desires because they are often unwilling to concede the most obvious motivation of terrorism: faith.

But others may rethink the seductive appeals of ISIS if well-crafted messages open their eyes to the fundamental depravity of murdering innocent people, to the reality that the Islamic State’s caliphate is not heaven on earth and that an ISIS victory is not divinely assured.

They will come back and when they do, they will not just fire guns and bombs. They have crucified others.

Mitt urges instead an alliance of countries that have done next to nothing to defeat ISIS.

Last week, it claimed responsibility for two explosions in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. “That doesn’t help ISIS because it can’t effectively get its road communications to its two most important centers of power”.

Russia’s bombing blitz this week by warplanes and cruise missiles from navy ships destroyed 15 oil refining and storage facilities in Syria and 525 trucks carrying oil, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Friday. Instead, 11/13, became France’s 9/11 as gunmen and suicide bombers methodically and randomly slaughtered more than 130 citizens at four locations around the city, wounding hundreds more.

Experts and eye-witnesses describe their brutality as the worse ever seen.

The group was formed after USA forces invaded Iraq in 2003.

– Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi travelled to Afghanistan near the end of the clash with the Soviets, met Osama bin Laden, and in his native Jordan later founded a group called Unity and Jihad. They called themselves “al-Qaida in Iraq”. He had been a prisoner of US forces in Iraq. The United States must join France and those other nations that share our democratic values to destroy the Islamic State. He was ousted and later executed. State TV aired exclusive video footage of warplanes striking ISIS positions in Syria.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday to halt the entry of refugees from Syria and Iraq and tighten up the screening of immigrants. We would be perceived as being Islamophobic (though the preponderance of refugees admitted from this crisis so far have been Muslim) and thus be at fault for creating more refugees. Earning these countries’ trust will not be easy if “anti-Muslim rhetoric” continues.

Western officials, as well as allies in the Middle East, are trying to keep a close watch on what may be an ambitious and growing chemical weapons program by the Islamic State terror group. That more geographically-specific name stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

According to local activists, the terror group makes most of its money from taxing, oil sale, kidnapping, ransoms, and the sale of antiquities.

Iraqi officials expressed concern that the large haven the extremists have controlled since overrunning parts of Iraq and Syria a year ago has left Iraqi authorities largely in the dark about the Islamic State program.

“What we are doing with our coalition members is recognising that it may take a few months for the Russians, the Iranians and, frankly, a few of the members of the Syrian government and duelling elites in the regime to recognise the truth I just articulated”.

Experts say air strikes on oil fields and refineries have reduced Islamic State earnings.

Islamic State follows an extreme version of Sunni Islam, analysts say. It’s slow. It’s not a very sexy strategy in the sense of whiz bang, high technology, boots on the ground, we are hammering them because we are the big U.S. It doesn’t have all those things.

The Islamic State has also forced women into sexual slavery.

Experts believe more than 3,000 Yazidi women are held by Islamic State.

The problem is that a military effort to eradicate the Islamic State is not likely to work. What’s more, the group has demonstrated the capacity to learn and adapt. Kathleen Struck was the editor. “I think that was a factor in viewing this as not something we want to have troops engaged in”.