Kosovo is fertile ground for ISIS

[novasteve]

Ingrates...

How Kosovo Was Turned Into Fertile Ground for ISIS

 

[waltky]

ISIS ability to foment violence is troubling...

Islamic State's Ability to Inspire Violence Worries US Officials
May 26, 2016 — U.S. officials are warning of Islamic State’s ability to inspire violent deeds around the world, including in the United States, without commanding or having any direct contact with terrorists.

“We are in a new phase of the global terrorist threat,” Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told a U.S. Senate panel Thursday. “We have moved from a world of terrorist-directed attacks to a world that increasingly includes the threat of terrorist-inspired attacks, one in which the attacker may never have come face to face with a member of a terrorist organization, but instead is inspired by the messages and propaganda of ISIL," Mayorkas said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group. “By their nature, such inspired attacks are harder for intelligence and law enforcement to detect, and could occur with little or no notice,” he added.

Battling 'twisted message'

The top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee agreed with the assessment, noting last year's terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California, that left 14 people dead. “We could shut down all travel and immigration to this country and still not be safe from terrorist threats,” said Senator Tom Carper of Delaware. “Unfortunately, ISIS [another Islamic State acronym] knows all too well the best way to attack America is to have Americans do it [for them]. That’s why ISIS has put an emphasis on using social media and the Internet to radicalize Americans at home. “We have to make sure that when ISIS makes its recruitment pitch to Americans, their twisted message falls on deaf ears.” The hearing was held one week after the crash of EgyptAir Flight 804 into the Mediterranean, the cause of which remains a mystery. Whether or not terrorism was involved, lawmakers expressed deep concern about Islamic State’s reach around the globe.

'Very effective opponent'

“I think there’s not a sense of urgency here,” Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio complained. “I think it’s hard for us to sit here and say that ISIS is, in fact, being contained. We are facing a very effective opponent online. They have a very slick narrative. They are reaching out to alienated youth in the West and elsewhere.” While the challenges are daunting, the picture is not entirely bleak, according to Justin Siberell, the State Department's acting coordinator of counterterrorism. “I think their [Islamic State’s] message has been blunted,” Siberell said. “That message of victory they relied upon so successfully in their early period, in the 2014-2015 era — there have been significant losses that ISIL has suffered."

Islamic State militants stand behind what are said to be Ethiopian Christians in Libya, in this still image from an undated video posted to a social media website​

Furthermore, he said, "they are not delivering effectively on governance [in Syria and Iraq].” Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire sought assurances that terrorists in Europe would be prevented from reaching the United States. “Those that were involved in the Paris attacks or the Brussels attacks, were any of those individuals not on our terror watch list or our no-fly list or our other databases?” Ayotte asked. “If they are nowhere [on U.S. lists], it’s a lot less likely that we are going to discover them.”

Stronger protocols

See also:

ISIS executes 25 men by lowering them in a massive vat of acid
Thursday, May 19, 2016 - ISIS executed 25 alleged spies in Mosul by lowering them into a huge vat of nitric acid, according to several news reports.

A witness to the gruesome killings told IraqiNews.com that each man was tied up with a rope then "lowered in the tub ... until the victim's organs dissolved." Nitric acid is a highly corrosive mineral acid used in fertilizer and rocket fuel, and also used for etching steel. Even a drop will burn through skin and requires instant treatment. The brutal executions appear to be a new way ISIS is attempting to keep control of its conquered citizens through fear -- even as its conquered territories shrink through several recent military loses.

Known for beheading and crucifying enemies and alleged spies, the Islamic State appears to be desperately trying to keep its caliphate together in any way possible. "They are looking for ways to start to regain their momentum or regain the initiative," Army Gen. Joseph Votel, commander of U.S. Central Command, told reporters this week.

Votel said the suicide bombings and other attacks in and around Baghdad over the past week, killing more than 200 civilians, show how rapidly momentum and tactics can change. On Tuesday, suicide bombers struck outdoor markets and a restaurant in Baghdad, killing at least 69 people.

ISIS executes 25 men by lowering them in a massive vat of acid

 

[Blackrook]

The violent overthrow of the Saudi royal family is the only way to stop this mental illness from spreading. Is anyone keen for another war?