… on a quiet day, I can hear her breathing

Tag: Isis

  • ISIS, Iraq, Kurdistan, Syria

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    http://www.vox.com/cards/things-about-isis-you-need-to-know/sunni-shia-conflict-ISIS

    Perhaps the single most important factor in ISIS’ recent resurgence is the conflict between Iraqi Shias and Iraqi Sunnis. ISIS fighters themselves are Sunnis, and the tension between the two groups is a powerful recruiting tool for ISIS.

    The difference between the two largest Muslim groups originated with a controversy over who got to take power after the Prophet Muhammed’s death, which you can read all about here. But Iraq’s sectarian problems aren’t about relitigating 7th-century disputes; they’re about modern political power and grievances.

    …

    The civil war after the American invasion had a brutally sectarian cast to it, and the pseudo-democracy that emerged afterwards empowered the Shia majority (with some heavy-handed help from Washington). Today, the two groups don’t trust each other, and so far have competed in a zero-sum game for control over Iraqi political institutions. For instance, Shia used control over the police force to arbitrarily detain Sunni protestors demanding more representation in government last year.

    So long as Shias control the government, and Sunnis don’t feel like they’re fairly represented, ISIS has an audience for its radical Sunni message. That’s why ISIS is strong in the heavily Sunni northwest.

    http://www.vox.com/cards/things-about-isis-you-need-to-know/maliki-sunni-shia-tension

    ISIS would be able to recruit Sunni fighters off of the Sunni-Shia tension even if Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki hadn’t held office until mid-August, but his policies towards the Sunni minority have helped ISIS considerably. It remains to be seen whether the new PM, Haider al-Abadi, will be an improvement.

    Maliki, a Shia Muslim, built a Shia sectarian state and refused to take steps to accommodate Sunnis. Police killed peaceful Sunni protestors and used anti-terrorism laws to mass-arrest Sunni civilians. Maliki made political alliances with violent Shia militias, infuriating Sunnis. ISIS cannily exploited that brutality to recruit new fighters.

    When ISIS reestablished itself, it put Sunni sectarianism at the heart of its identity and propaganda. The government persecution, according to the Washington Institute for Near East Studies’ Michael Knights, “played right into their hands.” Maliki “made all the ISIS propaganda real, accurate.” That made it much, much easier for ISIS to replenish its fighting stock.

     

  • DRAFT: I’m just starting to get a grasp on this ISIS BS – and strangely enough it’s about oil

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    I’m just starting to get a grasp of this ISIS BS. I wonder if any newspapers will be publishing this story with me tomorrow.

    Kurdistan has control over its natural resources according to the constitution of the federal Iraq.

    Kurdistan sold its oil in Texas independently of the central Iraqi government despite legal action by the central government to prevent that sale.

    Basra in the south of Iraq is the region responsible for the vast majority of Iraq’s oil production – about 75% – together with huge oil and gas reserves.

    Basra has also been attempting to assert its control over it’s oil resources in federal Iraq.

    This Independent article raises objections to UK government claims that military intervention is legal since it is requested by the Iraqi government. It should also be appreciated that the Kurdish Regional Government has legitimate control of Kurdish oil.

    This is a DRAFT and I will publish a fuller article

    21.25 Still working on this. The least UK MPs can do if they’re going to vote on military intervention tomorrow is to try to comprehend the wider context and legal issues.

  • Terrorism BS

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    We’ve had two or three weeks of terrorism propaganda in UK corporate media just recently – and it’s been total BS.

    It started with the Metropolitan Police warning UK citizens that they would be terrrists if they watched the supposed beheading of James Foley. If you’re following the news then you’re a terrrist? Actually, it’s probably more like if you’re able to use the internet, then you’re a terrrist.

    Well come on then, I’ve watched it and am still sharing it on bittorrent. I’m not promoting it, it’s set to default upload of 1.25 and it hasn’t reached there in weeks. As soon as I post this I will not be doing my share back (because it’s been reached). I am aware that bittorrent users can be tracked – I appreciate that authorities (spooks) can clearly see my bittorrent activity. It’s very amateur and there’s not an actual beheading in the video.

    That was a ramping-up of terrrorism BS (propoganda).

    Much more recently – Friday – we’ve had the terrrosim BS alert has increased to be very scared because a terrorist attack is going to happen. It’s such BS because if you analyse the statements of David Cameron and Theresa May there is no intelligence to back it up – It is a political move.

    There is no heightened threat of terrrism. People from UK have always gone to engage in wars abroad. You think that they’re going to have the same BS effect in UK – that the people of Croydon have been forced out of their homes and into the mountains of Surrey, are dying from exposure and are relying on humanitarian aid? Get real please.

    Do you really accept that tihs that you’re fed?

    My  best guess is that USUK are going to go heavy into Syria pretending to go after so-called Isis but actually having that as a secondary purpose.

    Two or three weeks ago so-called Isis were USUK allies because they were – together with al the ones using chemical weapons – fighting Syria.

    While there’s a heightened terror alert that’s just political BS. Hey be really afraid – you have to cross the road tomorrow.