This excellent article — a few months old — goes a long way toward explaining the “strategic” concept behind the kind of attack ISIS perpetrated in PAris yesterday. ISIS WANTs an apocalyptic battle — and will escalate and goad the West until they get one.
The Islamic State is no mere collection of psychopaths. It is a religious group with carefully considered beliefs, among them that it is a key agent of the coming apocalypse. Here’s what that means for its strategy—and for how to stop it.
The article, from The Atlantic and written by Graeme Wood, is long and it’s not casual reading — but it’s worth your time.
Keith West says
Thanks for the link. That was very much worth reading.
Paul McNamee says
Although this is a great in-depth article worth reading all through, my take away was this statement;
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[ISIS’] rise to power is … like the realization of a dystopian alternate reality in which David Koresh or Jim Jones survived to wield absolute power over not just a few hundred people, but some 8 million.
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Putting it in those terms does send a chill down one’s spine.
JimC says
Yes, it’s chilling. Daesh is a murderous cult — one that is highly sophisticated and capable, but it can be crushed if it’s put under sufficient pressure.
Lane Batot says
Yes–best article on the subject from ISIS’s point-of-view, something I haven’t understood at all, or read much about up to this point. Cain’t say as I understand it yet, but better informed now as to their bizarre motivation. I DO beg to differ on one comment one of the interviewed stated, that some people couldn’t really be Muslims if they didn’t follow the Islamic rules, just as one can’t be a “non-practicing vegetarian”. I will tell you rightnow, that I AM a non-practicing vegetarian!(ahem!)……
Siwiqo says
An incidence of terrorism took place in Paris recently. Worthily denounced. Taking necessary steps precautionary measure to ensure the security of the innocent civilians is the responsibility of the persons the Parisian authorised earlier. Soon after the terrorism the world has seen many more killing and attack of innocent civilians elsewhere. I don’t understand why these killings and attacks are not called act of terrorism!
Pat_h says
The Atlantic article is a good one, but I think that perhaps the single most notable, and amazing, thing about the learning curve here is how amazingly dense the analysis is on the Islamic State’s goals. They’ve never hidden it, it seems, rather, that in the west people simply don’t want to believe it means exactly what it says, and that this is attractive to a significant percentage of people in some locations. I blogged about that myself recently: http://lexanteinternet.blogspot.com/2015/11/taking-them-at-their-word-war-aims-of.html
Even after Paris, there’s still a section of the population that just can’t grasp that like other 20th Century extreme groups, they mean what they say and have been really open about that.
JimC says
It’s a huge blindspot. We didn’t take bin Laden seriously when he declared war on the U.S. He meant it. Look forward to reading your piece.