Inkwell Institute

Middle East Desk

That one question is on many people’s tongues.  Since their whirlwind movement took vast swathes of Syria and Iraq….they are looking unbeatable.  But are they?

I will give my readers my take on the situation and try to answer the nagging question of the month.

One point I would like to make is that the “grunts”, that is the average member of ISIS are not necessarily hard core combatants but rather thrill seekers and the disenfranchised……….

(Newser) – Before two young men left Britain last year to wage jihad in Syria, they bought two books that speak volumes about the modern jihadist movement, writes Mehdi Hasan at the New Statesman. Yusuf Sarwar and Mohammed Ahmed, who recently pleaded guilty to terror charges, ordered Islam for Dummies and Koran for Dummies from Amazon. No joke. It is yet more proof that Islam isn’t to blame for what’s happening in Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere. These men claim to be defending their faith, but “religious fervor isn’t what motivates most of them,” writes Hasan.

Instead, they’re “berks”—think pathetic, bored, unemployed young men looking for thrills and glory, and jihad fills the void. Martyrs they are not. In fact, Britain’s spy service found a few years back that many involved in terrorism aren’t religious in the least, their sloganeering to the contrary. “If we want to tackle jihadism, we need to stop exaggerating the threat these young men pose and giving them the oxygen of publicity they crave, and start highlighting how so many of them lead decidedly un-Islamic lives,” writes Hasan. Click for his full column.

The next that will be asked is….if they are not all that knowledgeable how did they make such fantastic progress?  And there is a two part answer to that question.

First, IS is a loose band of thugs.  But they do have some expert leadership.  I am not talking about their new Caliph…..I am speaking of their officers.  When the US invaded then occupied Iraq it decided to de-Baathify the army….that is to get rid of the officers that had served Saddam so well…..these were officers that had become battle hardened in the war with Iran and now they were cut loose and where would one think they would end up?   In the service of those fighting the occupation and in the end hooking up with ISIS.  These guys have the tactics down pat and now have a wealth of fodder in which to inflict damage on the present Iraqi government.

Second…..take a look at the map.  (Pause here for reflection)……the territory that IS controls are along existing roadways….that makes them vulnerable……how?  Their resupply routes and rearming routes are easily exposed and attacked…….. and eventually demoralization will set in…..

So to answer the question….NO they are NOT unbeatable!  A plan is needed that zeroes in on the ultimate defeat of IS…..any pussy footing around will doom the final deed necessary for a final victory over IS.  Command and control must be eliminated for them to be defeated.

IS can be beat but not by the US alone……we will need all the Arab states to combine and get along long enough to end the horror that is the Islamic State, after all they are more threatened than the US at this time.

I will be watching the scenario play out and it should be obvious if the final defeat of IS is truly the desired outcome of the US return to Iraq.  I want to see just who has the nuts to do what is necessary to defeat ISIS…….