Do we really understand the face of modern terrorism?
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/03/what-isis-really-wants/384980/
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/29/us/politics/in-battle-to-defang-isis-us-targets-its-psychology-.html?_r=1
The article stated,"Bin Laden corporatized terror and franchised it out. He requested specific political concessions, such as the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Saudi Arabia." which makes perfect sense, since he had a degree in economics. The article fails to go into detail about OBL's background, with regards to his schooling, it fails to mention that he received a large portion of his religious education in Saudi Arabia, learning a fundamentalist form of Islam known as Wahhabism.
As lengthy and historically detailed as this piece is it fails to mention the Saud family and their part in the spread of Wahhabism, the founder of Wahhabism, the inclusion to this day of the founder's heirs in the highest Islamic religious forum, that takfir is a tenant of Wahhabism, it did not talk about the alliance between Abdul-Aziz Ibn Saud and Muhammed Ibn Abd al Wahhab.
"One of the main tenets of Abd al-Wahhab's doctrine has become the key idea of takfir. Under the takfiri doctrine, Abd al-Wahhab and his followers could deem fellow Muslims infidels should they engage in activities that in any way could be said to encroach on the sovereignty of the absolute Authority (that is, the King). Abd al-Wahhab denounced all Muslims who honored the dead, saints, or angels. He held that such sentiments detracted from the complete subservience one must feel towards God, and only God. Wahhabi Islam thus bans any prayer to saints and dead loved ones, pilgrimages to tombs and special mosques, religious festivals celebrating saints, the honoring of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad's birthday, and even prohibits the use of gravestones when burying the dead."
In Wahhab's view anyone not complying to the strict conformity of his beliefs were not Muslims.
In order to understand the Islamic State one must know the history of Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia.
I've linked an article here if you would like to read it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alastair-crooke/isis-wahhabism-saudi-arabia_b_5717157.html
You Can't Understand ISIS If You Don't Know the History of Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia
Abd al-Wahhab argued that all Muslims must individually pledge their allegiance to a single Muslim leader (a Caliph, if there were one). Those who would not conform to this view should be killed, their wives and daughters violated, and their possessions confiscated, he wrote. The list of apostates meriting death included the Shia, Sufis and other Muslim denominations, whom Abd al-Wahhab did not consider to be Muslim at all. There is nothing...
We also do not have the intestinal fortitude to withstand such a lengthy battle. Nor, does it seem, can we fathom that someone might see us as intolerant or supporters of their right to do whatever. Call it sissified or PC or whatever.
My personal feelings/battle strategy is multi-part. First, I am not opposed to accepting Syrian refugees. We can screen the daylights out of them but we'll never get rid of them. Yes, we may get some terrorists....but there is nothing to say that they cannot go to Europe and arrive in the US.
Second, we need a concrete battle-plan against ISIS. Not a wishy-washy "limited air strike" campaign, but full scale military operations with a set of clearly defined goals. These must be supported by local Muslim nations, or else it provides propaganda for ISIS recruiting, talking about "Western invaders". In this case, the hacktivists of Anonymous can also play a critical role by restricting electronic access. By launching a massive coordinated strike, we force ISIS to decide between exporting terror to other nations, or remaining at home to defend their "homeland". This has been my feelings since ISIS first formed, and one of the few methods to contain them. This is another place where Anonymous and cyber-counter terrorism measures can play a strong role. If they are centralized then they are easy to locate, but if we spread them out, then we can force them to utilize electronic measures that can be tracked (or restricted). However, having a safe-haven for them to train replacements means that they are able to replenish fighters that are killed. By having Muslim nations in, it limits the recruiting potential and creates an alternative for moderate Muslims that may be disenfranchised with their current situation but NOT radicalized. It also may instill a desire to fight and a cause to fight for among these populations.
Once we have these two aspects done, then at this point we can begin to get ahead of this ideology by destroying the replacement pool and providing alternatives towards supporting an extremist Caliphate.
v/r,
CPT Butler
v/r,
CPT Butler
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/29/us/politics/in-battle-to-defang-isis-us-targets-its-psychology-.html?_r=1
In Battle to Defang ISIS, U.S. Targets Its Psychology
Officials acknowledge they have barely made a dent in the larger, longer-term campaign to kill the ideology that animates the terrorist movement.