U.S. intelligence agencies remain uncertain about danger posed by Islamic State
By Greg Miller and Juliet Eilperin September 13 at 9:57 PM
Hours before President Obama announced a new U.S. military offensiveagainst the Islamic State, one of his top counterterrorism officials testified to Congress that the al-Qaeda offshoot had an estimated 10,000 fighters.
The next day a new assessment arrived from the CIA: The terrorist organization’s ranks had more than doubled in recent months, surging to somewhere between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters across Iraq and Syria.
The enormous discrepancy reflects, in part, significant uncertainty among U.S. intelligence agencies over the dimensions of and danger posed by America’s latest Islamist adversary.
But the trajectory of those numbers — and the anxiety that they have induced among U.S. counterterrorism and military officials — also helps to explain Obama’s decision to go to war against an Islamist group that has yet to be linked to any plot against the United States.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-intelligence-agencies-remain-uncertain-about-danger-posed-by-islamic-state/2014/09/13/23245e84-3aa6-11e4-bdfb-de4104544a37_story.html
slay the dogs
That has been the basic plan since 2001. The problem with this plan, however, is the enemy doesn’t wear a uniform, and it basically blends in with the general population.
The quickest fix would be to drop a couple of nuclear warheads on the likes of Riyadh and Tehran. This would not only solve the problem of Islamic fundamentalism, but it would also solve the problems in Israel. Of course, we can’t do that because it’s simply not allowed under the terms of civilized life.
Don’t Ask Permission. Ask Forgiveness.
Ummm, Riyadh is in Saudi Arabia, who is backing much of the work to eradicate ISIS and the Muslim Brotherhood…. Sunni against Sunni. That’s why Qatar just kicked out members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Basically, you have Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, Iraq and Saudi all aligned against ISIS. But Bashar in Syria and by extension Putin in Russia are also against ISIS. So is Israel. The bombing runs by the French, British, US and Australians will fly out of these countries, plus Cyprus. So why bomb Riyadh ? Lots of Americans live and work in Riyadh, as well as Jeddah. So do Brits, French, Australians and Canadians.
Read this Declan: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/15/world/middleeast/arab-nations-offer-to-conduct-airstrikes-against-isis-us-official-says.html
Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Pakistan fuel much of what we know today as Islamic fundamentalism. Just because you see official statements from these countries in which they claim to be supportive of eradicating it, doesn’t mean it’s really happening, or more specifically, the goal of these nations. These nations are basically split into two opposing factions, one being pro-democracy and alligned with Western interests, and the conservatives, who support Wahhabism and a 15th century mindset. There’s a reason most of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi. Money and military hardware going into Palestine comes from Tehran.
Declan, Tehran?
You are aware that Iran is a shia state and as such, bitter enemies with what IS stands for?
Your silver bullet solution would not only murder millions of innocent people but exacerbate the problem of extremism exponentially.
Thank you for not posting anonymously. Your name at the top of a post will serve as a helpful warning label.
I agree with #7. Iran and ISIS are blood enemies. As for the GCC states supporting eradicating ISIS, I can assure you 100% that’s what they are working towards. Read about Qatar kicking out seven Muslim Brotherhood members… That was due to heavy GCC pressure. Another issue will be what to do with Syrian people displaced by ISIS and the civil war there. It’s all very complicated, but it’s significant to have Sunnis agreeing to eradicate ISIS which is Sunni. That’s like Irish Catholics agreeing to eradicate the IRA. The need for social stability outweighs all else, don’t underestimate this. These guys make Al Qaeda look like lowly common criminals compared to their world view, and the Gulf states don’t want them around.