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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsISIS is Being Exploited in the Media as a Bogeyman- Iraq in on the Brink of Full-Blown Sectarian War
Here are some key points to keep in-mind from the Brookings Institute:
Its a Coalition, not a Single Group. First, ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) is essentially the lead dog of a larger Sunni militant coalitionhence my preference for the latter, more accurate description. ISIS has been fighting in conjunction with a number of other Iraqi Sunni militant groups. Effectively the entire rogues gallery of Sunni militias from the 2006-2008 civil war have been revived by Prime Minister Malikis alienation of the Sunni Arab community since 2011. AQI, the Naqshbandis, the Bath, Jaysh al-Muhammad, Ansar al-Sunnah, and all of the rest are back in operation in Iraq, in at least tacit cooperation with a number of Sunni tribes.
These groups are key members of the Sunni militant coalition. They have done a great deal of the fighting, dying and occupying. Often they are indistinguishable from one another to outsiders or even Iraqis who are not themselves Sunni militants.
Many of these groups are the very same ones that were bribed by Petraeus in his policy with the Sunni warlords...
Another thing to consider is this that ISIS is essentially a militia, NOT A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.
These are Militias First and Foremost, Terrorists only a Distant Second. Here as well, Prime Minister Maliki and his apologists like to refer to the Sunni militants as terrorists. Too often, so too do American officials. Without getting into arcane and useless debates about what constitutes a terrorist, as a practical matter it is a mistake to think of these groups as being principally a bunch of terrorists.
The problem there is that that implies that what these guys mostly want to do is to blow up building or planes elsewhere around the world, and particularly American buildings and planes. While I have no doubt that there are some among the Sunni militants who want to blow up American buildings and planes right now, and many others who would like to do so later, that is not their principal motivation... http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/up-front/posts/2014/06/14-iraq-military-situation-pollack
Everyone needs to do a re-boot and quickly forget what the misinformation the MSM and the right-wing hawks have been dishing out this week.
Almost makes you wonder how many millions of taxpayer dollars are flowing to Iraq right now to stop the Sunni march on Baghdad... trust me, it's happening.
The Magistrate
(95,237 posts)catbyte
(34,175 posts)Kurds in the North, the rest split between Sunni & Shia. Problem solved. It's not like Iraq is a real country anyway.
global1
(25,170 posts)Invoking 9/11. Talking about massive killings of people in the wake of this march across Iraq. Hailing BushCo and dissing Obama.
It seems clear to me that somebody wants more war and this is the mechanism that will be used to deliver more war to us.
The President knows that the American People are war weary and just want to move on and fix this country for a change. I'm worried that the President is going to get sucked in by the war mongers and the frightened Dem pols that are concerned about their chances for re-election and feel they have to look and talk tough.
I just wish the parents of GI's would say enough is enough and put their foot down and say we will make no more sacrifices of our sons and daughters for the war games being played at our children's expense.
How many more American lives do we need to put at risk here?
Stop this insanity. Let the Iraqi's fight their own civil war and keep us out of it.
This is a no win situation for the President. Airstrikes and drones will not solve the problem. And the first time some innocent Iraqi's get killed by errant misfires - the President will be criticized for that as well.
No more wars!!!!!
Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)for the media lies and misinformation yet again?
JCMach1
(27,544 posts)Saudi and Iran stand to gain no matter what they do simply causing higher oil prices...
moondust
(19,917 posts)~
This war in Iraq, the battle of Baghdad, is the beginning of an all-out religious war between Shiites and Sunnis. And with it, the Middle East now faces a conflict akin to the Thirty Years' War. Israel's existence has never been this uncertain. And the West won't be able to watch for long.
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)JCMach1
(27,544 posts)not defending them at all... ISIS are thugs ... However, they are thugs who are mainly focused on military goals inside IRAQ... MAINLY
amandabeech
(9,893 posts)Assad is Alawite Muslim, which is an off-shoot of the Shia. Hezbollah is Shia, of course.
The Shia coalition is opposed by any number of Sunni groups, including ISIS.
It seems as though there is no real role for the US or the West in general in this mess. The locals are going to have to fight this out until they are sick of it for the time being. The fight between Sunni and Shia has been going on for centuries. It probably will continue off and on for centuries more. No matter what we do, other than get our people out of there, it will be the wrong thing one way or another.
We should prepare ourselves for the possibility that oil supplies coming out of the Persian Gulf might be interrupted by attacks on oil fields, refineries and shipping facilities, or by a closing of the Straits of Hormuz either because of an all out war between Iran and the Saudis (and their friends) or because of shipping sunk in the very narrow sea lanes there by various means of attack by any party.
If things really get going, we'll be in a world of hurt. Some of us here remember the oil embargoes of the '70s all too well. It meant and very expensive gasoline, diesel and heating oil. In 1973-74, gasoline prices nearly doubled, and it was difficult to find gasoline on Sundays. In 1979, had even and odd day rationing by license plate numbers. And in 1980, Jimmy Carter lost to Ronald Reagan. Just something to think about.
fadedrose
(10,044 posts)A chart that would show every religious group in the Islamic World, in what country it originated, who led and who leads it, what is that country now named and by whom, which are "friends" with another group and why....
(After a whole weekend of "culture," and watching Anthony Bourdain eat) on CNN, they still haven't given enough information about Iraq, Iran, Syria, their relationship to each other, and people like Christine Amanpour and (Jim?)Sciutto who could tell us more have to speed through their analysis because they seem to have only 4 minute or less....
?)
A chart would help, but who understands well enough to make one with just facts, no opinions, and would that even be permitted if it shows bad guys to be good and good guys to be bad?
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)Syria? As in the Syrian rebels that some here were all gung-ho to go in a fight for?!
amandabeech
(9,893 posts)not ISIS or ISIL as it is sometimes called.
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)amandabeech
(9,893 posts)I doubt that all the on-the-ground participants can keep it straight. How we are supposed to keep it straight is beyond me.
Whatever we do, we should not be in the business of appeasement--to John McCain.