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Thread: Beyond the frontline: watching ISIS

  1. #181
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    Default Beyond the frontline: watching ISIS

    A long and well reviewed article in The Guardian:http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...ght-syria-iraq



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  2. #182
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    Default Beyond the frontline: watching ISIS

    These stories matter. At last an open source ICSR report on why IS defectors exit the fight. Well reviewed overnight via Twitter and tonight on CNN at 7pm Dr Peter Neumann explains.

    From the ICSR Summary:
    Much has been written about the young men and women who join the Islamic State. We are familiar with their biographies and pathways, backgrounds and motivations. But virtually nothing is known about those who quit: the ‘defectors’ who didn’t like what they saw, abandoned their comrades, and fled the Islamic State. Yet their stories could be key to stopping the flow of foreign fighters, countering the group’s propaganda, and exposing its lies and hypocrisy.
    For a short paper, ICSR collected all published stories about people who have left the Islamic State and spoken about their defection. We discovered a total of 58 – a sizable number but probably only a fraction of those who are disillusioned or ready to leave.
    Link, including the full report:http://icsr.info/2015/09/icsr-report...ate-defectors/


    A BBC report:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-34313337
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  4. #184
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    Default Burke's new book The New Threat from Islamic Militancy

    Jason Burke, the veteran Observer and Guardian correspondent and author of the bestselling book Al-Qaeda, has a new book out The New Threat from Islamic Militancy and a reviewer says:
    is the most accessible and up-to-date analysis of the development of Islamic militancy. It gives a clear and convincing account of the evolution through the 20th century of the philosophy that seeks to justify this particular brand of terror.
    More telling is the first paragraph:
    One of the more shocking recent testimonies regarding Islamic State comes from Yazidi girls captured during the assault on Mount Sinjar in August 2014. The girls were immediately separated from their families and sold as sex slaves to Isis fighters. The justification for the sale and for their being bound, gagged and raped lies in the Qur’an, which, according to this interpretation, states that raping unbelievers is an act of devotion to God. One of the brave followers of the black flag said that rape was a form of prayer and brought him closer to Allah.
    Link:http://www.theguardian.com/books/201...n-burke-review
    davidbfpo

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    Default Deconstructing ISIS

    Deconstructing ISIS

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    I've been posting a bunch of video that might be of interest.

    DUKE VIDEO: ISIS Terrorism At And Abroad Jessica Stern
    http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/20...nd-abroad.html

    INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR COUNTER-TERRORISM VIDEO: Islamic State Future of Global Jihad?
    http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/20...r-counter.html

    ASIA SOCIETY VIDEO: ISIS Implications In Asia
    http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/20...ations-in.html

    NYU SCHOOL OF LAW VIDEO: Iran, ISIS and the Future of Gulf Security
    http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/20...-isis-and.html

    CSIS: What ISIS Really Wants
    http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/20...lly-wants.html

    WASH INST FOR NEAR EAST POLICY VIDEO: Fight Against ISIL Shiite Militias & The Coalition Effort
    http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/20...icy-video.html

    H VAN LYNDEN LECTURE VIDEO: Jihad on Our Doorstep: Inside the Minds of Jihadis in Syria and Iraq
    http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/20...ad-on-our.html

    H VAN LYNDEN LECTURE VIDEO: ISIS Tilting The Chess Board Dawn Of A New Middle East
    http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/20...s-tilting.html

  7. #187
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    Just did a very interesting interview with Australian National University's Haroro Ingram about Islamic State's information campaign. Thinks that follows traditional insurgent/revolutionary doctrine on use of propaganda and presents people with rational choice decisions to win over local support. Here's a link.

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    New video up on ISIS that includes Fmr Amb Robert Ford from World Affairs Council in Atlanta

    http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/20...yria-iraq.html

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    Default US Aims to Put More Pressure on ISIS in Syria

    US Aims to Put More Pressure on ISIS in Syria

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    Just interviewed Charlie Winter of the Quilliam Foundation about his recent study of info output by the Islamic State. Here's a link.

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    Quote Originally Posted by JWing View Post
    Just interviewed Charlie Winter of the Quilliam Foundation about his recent study of info output by the Islamic State. Here's a link.
    Much thanks to JWing for sharing this pithy and valuable interview. Some key excerpts I found valuable:

    First, it seems that in the West we only see the ultra violent propaganda ISIL promotes, and we're left wondering how that draws thousands of recruits. The reality is that their propaganda is much broader in scope and depth.

    First off, brutality is far from prominent. Indeed, often, it doesn’t come up at all. Far more important is the content that prioritises conveying the themes of victimhood, war and civilian life. On a daily basis, numerous visual reports emerge of dead or maimed children and decimated infrastructure in the ‘caliphate’, things that are instrumentalised in order to legitimise and justify Islamic State’s very existence. . . . Most prominent by far, though, are depictions of civilian life – . . . The intention of this content is obvious: Islamic State’s ‘state’ is being sold as a true utopia, a viable, practicable alternative to the status quo.
    In ‘The Virtual Caliphate: Understanding Islamic State’s Propaganda Strategy’, . . . I identified six key themes of the Islamic State narrative – mercy, belonging, brutality, victimhood, war and utopia.
    These days, the spectre of ultraviolence remains, however, since mid-April 2015, the target audience has become decidedly more regional, as the motivations behind Islamic State’s brutality have erred away from global provocation towards local deterrence.
    He provided some recommendations at the of the interview.

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    There is a thread on the Quilliam report and an excellent BBC article by Charlie Winter. It is in the media arena:http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ad.php?t=22783
    davidbfpo

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    IS confirmed the death of its #2 leader Abu Muslim al-Turkmani in recent audio tape. US said they killed him in a drone strike outside Mosul in August 2015. The problem was this was his 3rd reported death, but now acknowledged by group. Turkmani was second to Baghdadi and in charge of Iraq operations. Read the full report here.

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    MIT VIDEO: ISIS Apocalypse William McCants

    Will McCants talks about his new book ISIS Apocalypse at MIT.

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    Default Should The US Deploy Ground Troops Into Direct Combat With ISIS?

    Should The US Deploy Ground Troops Into Direct Combat With ISIS?

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    Default CNAS Announces Formation of ISIS Study Group

    CNAS Announces Formation of ISIS Study Group

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    Cross posting this over in this thread as well.

    I just interviewed Foreign Reports' Matthew Reed about the Islamic State's oil industry. He thinks that the group is mostly selling crude to local refiners in Syria and the Syrian government rather than smuggling it abroad due to local demand and coalition air strikes. Here's a link to the interview.

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    Default ISIS Beyond the Levant Symposium

    Daesh Beyond the Levant Symposium

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    Default What Dien Bien Phu Can Teach the French about ISIS and Syria

    What Dien Bien Phu Can Teach the French about ISIS and Syria

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