When do we go in and wipe out ISIS? (1 Viewer)

[Ilov80s]

Another attack, those celebrating during Ramadan at a popular ice cream shop in Baghdad. It's unbelievable the world hasn't been able to really unite to end this kind of extremism.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

ISIS is losing in Iraq, but has now taken control over a city in the Philippines

Just curious - do we know what part of Philippines this is?

 

[Ilov80s]

Just curious - do we know what part of Philippines this is?

I guess it's here. I don't know much about the Philippines tough  

 

[Dr Oadi]

ISIS is in the Philippines? Wtf.

 

[El Floppo]

ISIS is in the Philippines? Wtf.

lol.

just one post above. let alone the previous few.

eta: re: wtf... shouldn't be too surprising considering Indonesia and Malaysia are predominantly muslem.

eta 2: wtf with that link? nothing to do with Isis. 

 

[El Floppo]

shooting at Resorts World Manila. only less reputable "news" sites making any kind of isis jump just yet... still breaking.

per BBC

Police and Swat teams were deployed to Resorts World Manila at about 01:30 local time (17:30 GMT), according to CNN Philippines.

Staff at one hotel told the outlet a masked gunman was on the second floor, firing at guests.

The Philippines Fire Protection Bureau confirmed reports of a fire in the same area.

News site Rappler.com is reporting that several people have been wounded.

The complex wrote on Twitter: "Resorts World Manila is currently on lockdown following reports of gunfire from unidentified men.

"The Company is working closely with the Philippine National Police to ensure that all guests and employees are safe.

"We ask for your prayers during these difficult times."

A spokesman for the Philippines' Army has said police are in control of the situation, and the military is monitoring it closely.

No group has yet said it was behind the incident.

Resorts World Manila features multiple hotels and bars, as well as a casino, shopping centre and cinema.

Pictures have emerged on social media which show plumes of smoke pouring from one building.

A source at the scene told Reuters that an evacuation was under way.

The US state department has tweeted a warning to citizens, stating: "Reports of explosions/gunfire at Resorts World Manila, near the Manila Intl Airport. Avoid area & monitor local news."

It advised people to "check in with family/friends on social media to let them know you are safe".

The incident comes as the Philippines army is fighting militants linked to the so-called Islamic State group for control of the city of Marawi on the southern island of Mindanao.

 

[saintfool]

duterte has his hands full with this now.

 

[El Floppo]

and much like the great pope on fire story earlier, not much to see here today...

(CNN)A shooting at a sprawling Manila resort that caused hundreds of people to stampede was an attempt by a lone thief to rob gamblers and not a terrorist attack, Philippines National Police Chief Ronald Dela Rosa said Friday.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

U.S.-Backed Forces Begin Assault on ISIS Stronghold in Syria

- They're heading in to take Raqqa.

 

[El Floppo]

and much like the great pope on fire story earlier, not much to see here today...

(CNN)A shooting at a sprawling Manila resort that caused hundreds of people to stampede was an attempt by a lone thief to rob gamblers and not a terrorist attack, Philippines National Police Chief Ronald Dela Rosa said Friday.

anybody wonder about or question this, given Duterte and likely wanting to control spin... so that the ISIS problems are shown to be further away in the country on an outer island?

 

[ren hoek]

So who are we bringing democracy to next?  Iran?  

 

[Ilov80s]

anybody wonder about or question this, given Duterte and likely wanting to control spin... so that the ISIS problems are shown to be further away in the country on an outer island?

Certainly possible. We can't trust his government. However, the island where IS exists is not small. 23 million people there. That's nearly 25% of the total population of the Philippines. Now there are reports the IS forces are even larger than estimated. Since Duerte and Trump seem to be friendly, I'm surprised they aren't tag teaming IS right now. They should be. Get that IS garbage out of the country ASAP.

 

[flapgreen]

Leader of the JV team! 

 

[msommer]

Has it been 30 days yet?

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

ISIS Is Said to Destroy Historic Al Nuri Mosque in Mosul

BAGHDAD — The Islamic State on Wednesday night destroyed Mosul’s centuries-old Al Nuri Grand Mosque and its distinctive leaning minaret, one of Iraq’s most famous landmarks, according to the Iraqi and American militaries.

Shortly after the military’s report, the terrorist group used its news agency to claim that the mosque had actually been destroyed by an American airstrike.

Col. Ryan Dillon, an American military spokesman in Baghdad, said that the coalition had confirmed, through drone surveillance footage, that the mosque had been destroyed. “We don’t know how,” said Colonel Dillon, who added that the coalition was investigating.

But shortly afterward, the United States Central Command issued a statement bluntly accusing the Islamic State of destroying the mosque.

“As our Iraqi Security Force partners closed in on the al-Nuri mosque, ISIS destroyed one of Mosul and Iraq’s great treasures,” Maj. Gen. Joseph Martin, the American commander for the operation, said in the statement. “This is a crime against the people of Mosul and all of Iraq, and is an example of why this brutal organization must be annihilated.”

The mosque is where the Islamic State leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ascended a pulpit in 2014 and announced declared a caliphate after his fighters took control of Mosul and swept through other areas of northern Iraq and Syria.

The destruction of the mosque and minaret — which are pictured on Iraq’s 10,000 dinar bank note — is another blow to the city’s rich cultural heritage and its plethora of ancient sites that have been damaged or destroyed during three years of Islamic State rule.

Throughout the territory it controls, the Islamic State has routinely used mosques for battlefield purposes. Times reporters have visited mosques whose minarets were used as sniper nests, whose prayer halls were turned into bomb-making factories and whose courtyards were used to store the group’s weapons.

The battle for control of Mosul, which has raged for months, was closing in on the part of the Old City where Al Nuri mosque is. Capturing the mosque would have provided an important symbolic moment for the Iraqi security forces, who have taken heavy casualties in day after day of urban street battles and ambushes by the Islamic State.

The mosque was built by Nur al-Din Mahmoud Zangi, a ruler who in the 12th century unified Arab forces against crusaders from Europe.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

in short, Isis destroyed one of the greatest mosques in Islam on the night the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammad.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

Jenan Moussa‏Verified account @jenanmoussa

1- By blowing up this historic mosque, ISIS just admitted they lost Mosul. It all started from there. Full circle: classical doomsday cult.

2- I was in Raqqa today &I met Syrians fleeing ISIS in Raqqa. The stories they tell u make u realize ISIS is capable of anything. @akhbar

3- A man from Raqqa told me, everything was problematic to ISIS. If you & I would just talk to each other, we would both be lashed. @akhbar

4- This Raqqa man is called Suleiman. He said: ISIS kills joy. Music forbidden. Smoke, makeup, dancing & even falling in love all forbidden.

 

[El Floppo]

I think I said it in here before... but the blowing up history stuff makes me sooo sad/angry.

 

[SacramentoBob]

1- By blowing up this historic mosque, ISIS just admitted they lost Mosul. It all started from there. Full circle: classical doomsday cult.

Why can't they just go into the woods and drink cyanide laced Kool-Aid like normal doomsday cultists?

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

Tradition holds that Nur ad-Din Zangi built the mosque in 1172-73, shortly before his death.

- Wiki.

Here's a pic from 1932.

Here's a pic from March 2017.

This is the pic from the NYT story.

This may have been the last picture taken, 2 hours before it was destroyed.

This appears to be the destruction.

This is the site now.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

Why can't they just go into the woods and drink cyanide laced Kool-Aid like normal doomsday cultists?

Lack of forests in the mideast may be one answer to this...

 

[SacramentoBob]

Lack of forests in the mideast may be one answer to this...

So the trick to defeating Isis is to plant lots of trees.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

I've posted these before but I always think they're interesting:

Map of the Ottoman Empire, post 1800.

- Note that 'the Wahabis', modern KSA, went farther east and farther north.

Here's another map showing the provinces.

- I think if the Brits and French had followed these lines (while maintaining modern Israel and Lebanon), we'd be much better off today.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

Nasser on Muslim Brotherhood demands that women be required to wear the hijab, 1958.

 

[Uwe Blab]

Nasser on Muslim Brotherhood demands that women be required to wear the hijab, 1958.

Wow...just shows how incredibly backwards we've (humanity) gone there.  Things were probably much much better there during the Ottoman occupation.

 

[flapgreen]

Can't find much on news about because of the same old bs but they're bring wiped out.  Not gonna be around a lot longer.  Raqqa will fall soon.  http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN19K0YZ

The aftermath is the important thing now. 

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

Can't find much on news about because of the same old bs but they're bring wiped out.  Not gonna be around a lot longer.  Raqqa will fall soon.  http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN19K0YZ

The aftermath is the important thing now. 

This really is great news. Things will sketchy in a different way as the war zone grows smaller, but our allies and our armed forces are pushing them to the brink.

On that point Iraq also declared the end of the Islamic State.

 

[flapgreen]

Trump tweets and Russia Collusion is more important. 

 

[glvsav37]

so where do we go from here? 

Who is the new enemy du jour to keep us in the military state? 

 

[Henry Ford]

Wow...just shows how incredibly backwards we've (humanity) gone there.  Things were probably much much better there during the Ottoman occupation.

It isn't just there.  Religion in general has become increasingly reactionary in many parts of the world.  Including our own.

 

[Henry Ford]

so where do we go from here? 

Who is the new enemy du jour to keep us in the military state? 

Keep an eye one Khalid ibn al-Walid.  I thought Liwa al-Aqsa for awhile, but they merged with ISIL.  I guess they could split off again.  More likely someone new will form.

 

[flapgreen]

so where do we go from here? 

Who is the new enemy du jour to keep us in the military state? 

Russia and Iran will keep us there. The terrorists groups will always be there. Once kick one group's ###, another pops up. 

 

[OrtonToOlsen]

Russia and Iran will keep us there. The terrorists groups will always be there. Once kick one group's ###, another pops up. 

Basically whack a mole 

 

[El Floppo]

Russia and Iran will keep us there. The terrorists groups will always be there. Once kick one group's ###, another pops up. 

Basically whack a mole 

an ideology that has martyrdom close to it's core won't disappear when you bonk it on its head? go figure.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

Short but good report on the Hell that is Raqqa.

 

[msommer]

Raqqa down

Check out the map of territory they lost in the past almost three years.

 

[Otis]

Pretty much got this buttoned down now right?

And why is this in the politics subforum?

 

[rockaction]

Pretty much got this buttoned down now right?

And why is this in the politics subforum?

You know why. ISIS is a political/terrorist organization and you asked a distinctly political question. This is what happens when people complain about there being no subforum, which has actually proved beneficial to the board, IMO.  

 

[timschochet]

Apparently it’s Chuck Schumer’s fault. 

 

[Ilov80s]

NYT with some scathing reporting on our war efforts.

1 in 5 US Attacks kills civillians, least transparent war in recent US history, DoD consistently undereporting civillian deaths. I know this is something @ren hoek and I have been complaining about going back a couple administrations. I wish we as a country would pay more attention to the war we have been wageing for over 15 years. 

 

[ren hoek]

NYT with some scathing reporting on our war efforts.

1 in 5 US Attacks kills civillians, least transparent war in recent US history, DoD consistently undereporting civillian deaths. I know this is something @ren hoek and I have been complaining about going back a couple administrations. I wish we as a country would pay more attention to the war we have been wageing for over 15 years. 

It seems like a huge failure in western journalism that the human cost of these wars is lost on the people financing it.  Mass media spends a lot of time on things like Trump/Russia, which I feel is a very boutique issue, while the US-backed Saudi blockade in Yemen is shaping up to be the worst human rights catastrophe in decades.  Millions of people will die in famine.  

TV news is much shallower than print, but both basically serve to insulate powerful institutions from meaningful criticism.  People seem to get real uncomfortable when you bring up these subjects.  I'm not sure if that's just from being insulated from it for so long, a school system thing or a blind spot in our culture but it is very disheartening.  They just don't think about the reality of innocent people being killed in our name and it's very sad.  It's like two different planes of existence people are living on.  

 

[Ilov80s]

It seems like a huge failure in western journalism that the human cost of these wars is lost on the people financing it.  Mass media spends a lot of time on things like Trump/Russia, which I feel is a very boutique issue, while the US-backed Saudi blockade in Yemen is shaping up to be the worst human rights catastrophe in decades.  Millions of people will die in famine.  

TV news is much shallower than print, but both basically serve to insulate powerful institutions from meaningful criticism.  People seem to get real uncomfortable when you bring up these subjects.  I'm not sure if that's just from being insulated from it for so long, a school system thing or a blind spot in our culture but it is very disheartening.  They just don't think about the reality of innocent people being killed in our name and it's very sad.  It's like two different planes of existence people are living on.  

I think a large number of Americans know and don't care- then media doesn't cover it because people don't want to watch it. Just the other day there was that massive earthquake in Iraq/Iran and I heard several adults comment that it was a "blessing in disguise" and "could'nt have been big enough" and "good riddance". I think many Americans have adopted the idea that people from certain parts of the world aren't deserving of sympathy or regard. 

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

It seems like a huge failure in western journalism that the human cost of these wars is lost on the people financing it.  Mass media spends a lot of time on things like Trump/Russia, which I feel is a very boutique issue, while the US-backed Saudi blockade in Yemen is shaping up to be the worst human rights catastrophe in decades.  Millions of people will die in famine.  

The only reason you know about this is because of free, western media. I just read a news report about how we have 500 troops - ahem "advisors" - in Somalia. Maybe the difference is I'm actually reading journalism. However how people choose to not care about it can be disastrous. Gulf of Tonkin and USS Maine are too old examples of how disastrous that can be. The 'sad' thing is not people not caring but people ignoring what is reported fairly in favor of what they choose to believe. 

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

Rawa falls. - This was being called the last Isis held town.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

NYT with some scathing reporting on our war efforts.

1 in 5 US Attacks kills civillians, least transparent war in recent US history, DoD consistently undereporting civillian deaths. I know this is something @ren hoek and I have been complaining about going back a couple administrations. I wish we as a country would pay more attention to the war we have been wageing for over 15 years. 

Well it's been said but a lot of it has to do with the expanded rules of engagement and discretion left to in field commanders.  

We're at war in 7 countries by my count. We've been at war 16 years. The absurd thing is we have gone from the energy the Bush administration devoted to justifying the GWOT to the energy the Obama administration gave to explain how they were winding down the GWOT to this administration which doesn't even feel like it's worth explaining much less completely lying with demands for transparency about it.

 

[Otis]

Isis pwned 

 

[ren hoek]

The only reason you know about this is because of free, western media. I just read a news report about how we have 500 troops - ahem "advisors" - in Somalia. Maybe the difference is I'm actually reading journalism. However how people choose to not care about it can be disastrous. Gulf of Tonkin and USS Maine are too old examples of how disastrous that can be. The 'sad' thing is not people not caring but people ignoring what is reported fairly in favor of what they choose to believe. 

I was referring to corporate journalism, though you're right that they're technically both western.  It isn't an accident that 6 corporations control virtually all print, radio and television news.  There's a very small handful controlling the flow of information to hundreds of millions of people.  

The reason I know about it is because I actually care about this stuff.  People think US media isn't capable of pushing propaganda on them and it's a huge problem in this country.  

 

[ren hoek]

Abu Fawzi and dozens of other drivers were promised thousands of dollars for the task but it had to remain secret.

The deal to let IS fighters escape from Raqqa – de facto capital of their self-declared caliphate – had been arranged by local officials. It came after four months of fighting that left the city obliterated and almost devoid of people. It would spare lives and bring fighting to an end. The lives of the Arab, Kurdish and other fighters opposing IS would be spared.

But it also enabled many hundreds of IS fighters to escape from the city. At the time, neither the US and British-led coalition, nor the SDF, which it backs, wanted to admit their part.

Has the pact, which stood as Raqqa’s dirty secret, unleashed a threat to the outside world - one that has enabled militants to spread far and wide across Syria and beyond?

Great pains were taken to hide it from the world. But the BBC has spoken to dozens of people who were either on the convoy, or observed it, and to the men who negotiated the deal.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/raqqas_dirty_secret

 

[The Future Champs]

TV news is much shallower than print, but both basically serve to insulate powerful institutions from meaningful criticism.    

Seriously?   Where is the meaningful criticism coming from?   

You know what really insulates powerful institutions from meaningful criticism?   Pinheads who get all their news from social media, much of which is fake and comes from Russian troll farms.

 

[Ilov80s]

Nature/Nurture here. The news media doesn't have any motivations to push stories of drones killing civilians. The people aren't clamoring for it and when the stories do air, they don't seem to illicit much response from the public. So, the stories over time got buried. Not so much a conspiracy so much as a case where most people don't care about this issue.