iSIS have basically, sacrificed there own believers on a fools mission, in doing so they have built up hatred against there religion. So although the short term was quite nasty, especially for those murdered by them, longer term theyve done a good job, less nutters and they have pushed people away from religion, when removed I think we will see stability in those areas finally. Everything works out how its supposed to in the end.
Thought I'd bring the thread back to life what with activity in Yemen running the price of oil up by a small amount.
A lot of activity everywhere but ISIS losing ground, they can't fight any more so back to terror tactics, random bombings creating loads of news but not a lot else, many casualties sadly. No real career in suicide they will run out of volunteers soon i hope.
And the revolt in Yemen is a Shia revolt instead of ISIS (which is Sunni). But it's the Shia that Saudia Arabia is afraid of, not the Sunni.
Thanks, I was thinking about it too, when the Yemen news broke and the price of oil started to ramp. Oil went up a "small amount?" WTI went up over 10.75% between 10:45 am on Wednesday and 4:02 am on Thursday, about 17 hours. Brent was up more. Just the hint of a crimp in Saudi supply roiled oil. Goes back to the point that oil is a direct proxy for the stability of the kingdom. ISIS is still holding on to Tikrit and Mosul despite an attacking Iraqi coalition and U.S. air strikes. Rooting ISIS out of cities like Tikrit and especially Mosul, might be like trying to root the Russians out of Stalingrad during WWII. Not easy and it could be a turning point. Here are several pieces that support that point of view: Stalingrad on the Tigris: The Kobani Model Writ Large? Stalingrad on the Tigress II Why the U.S. Will Fail by Winning in Mosul (and Tikrit) Battle for Tikrit a political disaster that will hurt efforts to defeat ISIS in Iraq It looks like the whole country is being stirred up against Saudia Arabia: Following the call by the leader of the Houthi movement, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, tens of thousands Yemenis from all walks of life took to the streets of the capital, Sana'a, to voice their anger at the Saudi invasion. In a televised address, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi heaped scorn on Saudi Arabia for their “unjustified attack on Yemenis people.” He stressed that the attacks uncovered the “tyrannical nature” of Saudi regime. “This unjustified aggression shows the hostility and arrogance of this regime. The attacks are reflecting the inhumanity of the aggressor.” I'm not sure how the Houthi rebels (Zaidi Shia sect) and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula get along? But both are enemies of Saudia Arabia. So with ISIS in the north and these guys in the south is the Kingdom more secure or less secure than it was two months ago?
The House of Saud is very scared of ISIS. A few months back they were imprisoning their own clerics for any displays of admiration for the mujahideen, and regular citizens for any display of isis propaganda. Not that that is a bad policy, but they are scared. It is their own brand of islam that has gotten away from them, and the crazies who they have funded and egged on to fight as their proxies are now marching to the beat of their own drums. I've read that the latest king is the last of his generation and those who will follow are simply not built to lead. Abdullah's generation is olllld and has essentially lived through the huge spike in wealth they enjoy.. their kids are spoiled, like many American kids, and will quarrel among themselves. That kind of internal strife and weakness is exactly what a group like isis needs in order to gain sway with the population. I'm not saying isis will topple saudia arabia, but I do believe that 'radical' islame is on the rise and will continue to gain support all over the world among muslim populations. I don't doubt the group isis will get blown apart and left to rot in the sand, but the movement of fundamentalist islam will continue to gain steam, i think. What you have in isis are the remnants of al qaeda in iraq which our troops kicked the shit out of, combined with chechen rebel muslims who the russian troops kicked the shit out of. Yet still they have actually conquered cities and oil fields and rule over millions of ppl right now. I can't stand when I hear some talking head say we can't win this militarily because the only way to beat them is militarily. Unless they are brutalized into submission or killed to the last man they will keep coming back and stronger because they learned how we fight.
To a certain extent, the awful situation in Yemen will help convince a lot of people that "maybe their current situation is actually better than a civil war".