Islamic State: Where does it get its support?

[LarryW]

The political will in this moral and spiritual toilet is wrapped around the axle of being politically correct, of plausible deniability, of the same yellow-bellied crap-logic that has dominated our own foreign policy for the past six years. It’s enough to make a person wanna strangle a grizzly. The twat-turd shit for brains supporters of IS need to be dumped at sea with the bones of OBL.

Islamic State: Where does jihadist group get its support?
(1 September 2014 Last updated at 00:45 ET)

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29004253

Many Gulf states have been accused of funding Islamic State (IS) extremists in Iraq and Syria. But as Michael Stephens, director of the Royal United Services Institute in Qatar, explains, not all is clear-cut in war.

Much has been written about the support Islamic State (IS) has received from donors and sympathisers, particularly in the wealthy Gulf States.

Indeed the accusation I hear most from those fighting IS in Iraq and Syria is that Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia are solely responsible for the group's existence.

But the truth is a little more complex and needs some exploring.

It is true that some wealthy individuals from the Gulf have funded extremist groups in Syria, many taking bags of cash to Turkey and simply handing over millions of dollars at a time.

This was an extremely common practice in 2012 and 2013 but has since diminished and is at most only a tiny percentage of the total income that flows into Islamic State coffers in 2014.

It is also true that Saudi Arabia and Qatar, believing that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would soon fall and that Sunni political Islam was a true vehicle for their political goals, funded groups that had strongly Islamist credentials.

Liwa al-Tawhid, Ahrar al-Sham, Jaish al-Islam were just such groups, all holding tenuous links to the "bad guy" of the time - the al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's wing in Syria.

Qatar especially attracted criticism for its cloudy links to the group.

Turkey for its part operated a highly questionable policy of border enforcement in which weapons and money flooded into Syria, with Qatari and Saudi backing.

All had thought that this would facilitate the end of Mr Assad's regime and the reordering of Syria into a Sunni power, breaking Shia Iran's link to the Mediterranean.Yet as IS began its seemingly unstoppable rise in 2013, these groups were either swept away by it, or deciding it was better to join the winning team, simply defected bringing their weapons and money with them.

Only al-Nusra has really held firm, managing a tenuous alliance with its more radical cousin, but even so it is estimated that at least 3,000 fighters from al-Nusra swapped their allegiance during this time.

So has Qatar funded Islamic State? Directly, the answer is no. Indirectly, a combination of shoddy policy and naivety has led to Qatar-funded weapons and money making their way into the hands of IS.

Saudi Arabia likewise is innocent of a direct state policy to fund the group, but as with Qatar its determination to remove Mr Assad has led to serious mistakes in its choice of allies.

Both countries must undertake some soul searching at this point, although it is doubtful that any such introspection will be admitted in public.

But there are deeper issues here; religious ties and sympathy for a group that both acts explicitly against Shia Iran's interests in the region and has the tacit support of more people in the Gulf than many would care to admit.

The horrific acts committed by IS are difficult for anybody to support, but its goal of establishing a caliphate is certainly attractive in some corners of Islamic thought.

Many of those who supported the goal have already found their way to Syria and have fought and died for Islamic State and other groups. Others express support more passively and will continue to do so for many years.

The pull of IS, a group that has outperformed all others in combat and put into place a slick media campaign in dozens of languages to attract young men and women to its cause, has proven highly successful.

In every activity - from fighting, to organisation and hierarchy, to media messaging - IS is light years ahead of the assorted motley crew of opposition factions operating in the region.

'War economy'

Islamic State has put in place what appear to be the beginnings of quasi-state structures - ministries, law courts and even a rudimentary taxation system, which incidentally asks for far less than what was paid by citizens of Mr Assad's Syria.

IS has displayed a consistent pattern since it first began to take territory in early 2013.

Upon taking control of a town it quickly secures the water, flour and hydrocarbon resources of the area, centralising distribution and thereby making the local population dependent on it for survival.

Dependency and support are not the same thing, and it is impossible to quantify how many of Islamic State's "citizens" are willing partners in its project or simply acquiescing to its rule out of a need for stability or fear of punishment.

To understand how the Islamic State economy functions is to delve into a murky world of middlemen and shady business dealings, in which "loyal ideologues" on differing sides spot business opportunities and pounce upon them.

IS exports about 9,000 barrels of oil per day at prices ranging from about $25-$45 (£15-£27).

Some of this goes to Kurdish middlemen up towards Turkey, some goes for domestic IS consumption and some goes to the Assad regime, which in turn sells weapons back to the group.

"It is a traditional war economy," notes Jamestown analyst Wladimir van Wilgenburg.

Indeed, the dodgy dealings and strange alliances are beginning to look very similar to events that occurred during the Lebanese civil war, when feuding war lords would similarly fight and do business with each other.

The point is that Islamic State is essentially self-financing; it cannot be isolated and cut off from the world because it is intimately tied into regional stability in a way that benefits not only itself, but also the people it fights.

The larger question of course is whether such an integral pillar of the region (albeit shockingly violent and extreme) can be defeated.

(Cont.)

"Winning the hearts and minds of the people when you have them by the balls." Hey, news flash, Mr. POTUS…here’s a strategy!

'War economy'

Islamic State has put in place what appear to be the beginnings of quasi-state structures - ministries, law courts and even a rudimentary taxation system, which incidentally asks for far less than what was paid by citizens of Mr Assad's Syria.

IS has displayed a consistent pattern since it first began to take territory in early 2013.

Upon taking control of a town it quickly secures the water, flour and hydrocarbon resources of the area, centralising distribution and thereby making the local population dependent on it for survival.

The issue for IS is what it has always been for emerging nation-states; consolidate power along with authority, establish an economy which can be understood by the governed, and (here's the really sticky end of the stick) ... do it quickly and don't get your butt assassinated. That goes back to King Saul's days. Same crap, different crapper.

[Pete]

Interesting read

[Paslode]

It appears to me that the article left out at least one player.....If I am not mistaken the Obama Administration in its apparent zeal to oust Assad supported the Rebels.

The Obama administration says it will seek $500 million from Congress to help "train and equip appropriately vetted elements of the moderate Syrian armed opposition," funding that, if approved, would deepen U.S. involvement in that country's civil war.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/26/politi...ition-funding/

SIS: US-made monster running amok in Middle East

In its desire to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad, the US channeled arms and funds to the Syrian rebels, many of whom splintered off and formed the Islamic State, which is now giving the US far more problems than it had bargained for.

http://rt.com/op-edge/183412-isis-us-syria-obama/

The White House last month announced plans to provide moderate members of the Syrian opposition with $500 million worth of weapons, equipment, and training. Freeing up the money requires authorization from Congress, but after classified meetings this week, key lawmakers speaking to Foreign Policy -- including many Democrats -- remain deeply skeptical of the White House's plan. That spells trouble for Barack Obama's administration, which is trying to build support for the program as a part of the fiscal year 2015 defense appropriations and authorization bills under consideration in the House and Senate.

http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/po..._syrian_rebels

Exclusive: Obama authorizes secret U.S. support for Syrian rebels

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing U.S. support for rebels seeking to depose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government, U.S. sources familiar with the matter said.

Obama's order, approved earlier this year and known as an intelligence "finding," broadly permits the CIA and other U.S. agencies to provide support that could help the rebels oust Assad

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...8701OK20120801

Similar support endorsed by the Obama Regime has worked out well in Libya....

Libya militia take US embassy swimming pool in Tripoli

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29006782


Hell....There is even a May 2013 picture floating around of Senator John McCain in a meeting with the Free Syrian Army and a person who looks very much like Abu Du'a, who who goes the aliases of Dr. Ibrahim ‘Awwad Ibrahim ‘Ali al-Badri al-Samarrai’, Ibrahim ‘Awad Ibrahim al-Badri al Samarrai, Abu Duaa’, Dr. Ibrahim, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and is wanted for terrorism.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Mid...#axzz2Ujmw4ghe

Ibrahim and other members of the kidnapped family said they recognized Nour, and another man affiliated with the group, also identified as “Abu Ibrahim,” immediately after seeing the photos, widely circulated by international media following McCain’s visit.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Mid...#axzz2Ujmw4ghe

[Lighthouse]

Originally Posted by LarryW

...being politically correct...

While we are teaching kids to be politically correct they are teaching their kids to kill ours. How many ways has this ideology proven itself to be an extremist one. How long until 2016 again?