News Iraqi unrest, Syrian unrest, and ISIS/ISIL/Daesh

[Astronuc]

Stand with King Abdullah now and give him all he needs to fight radical Islam
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/02/07/stand-with-king-abdullah-now-and-give-him-all-needs-to-fight-radical-islam/

A rare time when I can agree with a commentator on Fox news.Meanwhile - Jordanian Military Goes After ISIS Again in Syria
https://screen.yahoo.com/jordanian-military-goes-isis-again-143049652.html

 

[jim hardy]

http://news.yahoo.com/photo-king-jordan-looking-badass-132100812.html
Jordan's King Abdullah II can pull it off. He's no Michael Dukakis.

First paragraph of that link:

Jordan's King Abdullah II, a former commander of his country's special forces , angrily vowed to bombard the Islamic State until his military runs "out of fuel and bullets"

i'd send him a case of .308...

 

[Astronuc]

Jordan pounds IS as Iraqi ground offensive looms
http://news.yahoo.com/jordan-says-56-targets-destroyed-three-days-strikes-143331641.html

US shipload of weapons and ammunition arrives in Lebanon - ostensibly to prevent Daesh from invading Lebanon.
http://news.yahoo.com/us-shipload-weapons-ammunition-arrives-lebanon-114259011.html

U.S. delivers arms to Lebanon, says fighting 'same enemy'
http://news.yahoo.com/u-delivers-arms-lebanon-says-fighting-same-enemy-151525963.html

Meanwhile - Mysterious woman from Canada’s rapid rise in ISIS puzzles intel analysts
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/02/08/mysterious-woman-from-canadas-rapid-rise-in-isis-puzzles-intel-analysts/

 

[Astronuc]

Afghanistan drone strike 'kills IS commander Abdul Rauf'
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-31290147

From the BBC - Where else Islamic State (Daesh) has metastasized.

Egypt: Based in Sinai, the IS branch was essentially a re-branding of Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which first emerged in 2011 in the wake of the Egyptian revolution.

Libya: Three distinct Libyan IS "provinces" were announced in November - Barqah in the east, Tripoli in the west and Fazzan in the south.

Algeria: A breakaway group from al-Qaeda's North Africa branch (AQIM), the IS branch rose to prominence in September when it beheaded French tourist Herve Gourdel. Since then it has been largely silent.

Yemen and Saudi Arabia: The new branches have not claimed any activities yet but the move represents a symbolic challenge to al-Qaeda.

Afghanistan-Pakistan: IS says its branch here represents the historic Khorasan Province - a region covering Afghanistan, Pakistan and "other nearby lands".

Meanwhile - back in the not-so-caliphate, Daesh pulls forces and hardware from Syria's Aleppo
http://news.yahoo.com/islamic-state-pulls-forces-hardware-syrias-aleppo-rebels-142427116.html

AMMAN (Reuters) - Islamic State has withdrawn some of its insurgents and equipment from areas northeast of the Syrian city of Aleppo, rebels and residents say, adding to signs of strain in the Syrian provinces of its self-declared caliphate.

but Daesh may be looking for new targets - is Jordan the next target?
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-02-09/why-jordan-is-islamic-state-s-next-target

 

[Astronuc]

Kurds recapture ground from IS north of Mosul: US
http://news.yahoo.com/kurds-recapture-ground-north-mosul-us-190112749.html

and Syria doesn't appreciate Jordan's contribution in destroying Daesh
http://news.yahoo.com/syria-says-doesnt-jordans-help-against-122254827.html

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's foreign minister on Monday criticized neighboring Jordan, which recently stepped up airstrikes against Islamic State group targets in Syria, and said his country does not need outside help in battling militants.

They want someone else to do it?

 

[Astronuc]

Emirates launches airstrikes from Jordan on Islamic State
http://news.yahoo.com/assad-messages-us-led-coalition-battling-071349247.html

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates launched airstrikes Tuesday against the Islamic State group from an air base in Jordan, marking its return to combat operations against the militants after it halted flights late last year.

 

[Astronuc]

American hostage Kayla Mueller's handwritten letter from IS captivity says she was safe, unharmed
http://news.yahoo.com/kayla-mueller...ty-says-she-was-safe--unharmed-174002266.html

After publicly holding out hope that their daughter was still alive, Kayla Mueller’s family http://news.yahoo.com/obama-confirms-death-us-hostage-held-islamic-state-151207634.html%20 , as did the U.S. government, that the 26-year-old American aid worker is dead. And the family shared publicly a letter Mueller had written to them while in captivity.

Mueller had been held hostage by the Islamic State group since 2013, when she was kidnapped leaving a Doctor’s Without Borders hospital in the Syrian capital Aleppo. After Mueller’s death had been verified, her family released a copy of a letter Mueller wrote them from captivity in early 2014.

Family Confirms U.S. Hostage Kayla Mueller Dead
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/02/10/385182490/u-s-hostage-kayla-mueller-confirmed-dead

Arizona mountain town mourns for American woman held by IS
http://news.yahoo.com/parents-american-woman-held-notified-her-death-151102219.html Peace be upon Kayla.

 

[Dotini]

Watching CNN after returning home from the dentist's office, I idly watched a CNN report discussing the latest figure of 20,000 foreign recruits for ISIS. Here I may have stumbled upon the secret for ISIS's ability to recruit so many people from Europe, North Africa and now Central Asia.

In addition to the usual jihad-against-infidels, they are promised pay, a bucolic lifestyle, and a rich sex life! I am not kidding - this was on Wolf Blitzer's show.

 

[Borg]

In addition to the usual jihad-against-infidels, they are promised pay, a bucolic lifestyle, and a rich sex life!

You've got to read the fine print... oo)
Actor portrayal of Daesh lifestyle. Enlistment in Daesh may result in maiming that could greatly impact your sex life. Some Daesh enlistees have experienced sudden explosive death syndrome due to coalition bombing. Individual results may vary.

Daesh promises of pay, lifestyle, and sex life does not constitute a guarantee of actual lifestyle. Bucolic lifestyle and rich sex life only redeemable upon forfeiture of life as a martyr. Bucolic lifestyle is seen on a TV while you suffer eternal damnation. Any resemblance to actual persons, previously martyred, is unintentional and purely coincidental. Good luck with that 72 virgins thing.

 

[lisab]

You've got to read the fine print... oo)
Actor portrayal of Daesh lifestyle. Enlistment in Daesh may result in maiming that could greatly impact your sex life. Some Daesh enlistees have experienced sudden explosive death syndrome due to coalition bombing. Individual results may vary.

Daesh promises of pay, lifestyle, and sex life does not constitute a guarantee of actual lifestyle. Bucolic lifestyle and rich sex life only redeemable upon forfeiture of life as a martyr. Bucolic lifestyle is seen on a TV while you suffer eternal damnation. Any resemblance to actual persons, previously martyred, is unintentional and purely coincidental. Good luck with that 72 virgins thing.

dammit Borg, I had just taken a bite of rice crispies when I read that...

 

[Borg]

dammit Borg, I had just taken a bite of rice crispies when I read that...

We take no responsibility for proper food intake while reading Borg posts.

 

[HossamCFD]

Daesh captures an Iraqi town near a US base.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-31449976

 

[Astronuc]

Iraqi Sunni tribal leader (and Iraqi MP) assassinated in Baghdad
http://news.yahoo.com/iraqi-sunni-tribal-leader-assassinated-baghdad-164829669.html

Baghdad (AFP) - A Sunni tribal leader, his son and seven bodyguards were killed in Baghdad, a cousin told AFP Saturday, in an attack that could inflame sectarian tension in Iraq.

Sheikh Qassem Sweidan al-Janabi and most of his bodyguards were shot in the head, while son was killed by a bullet to the chest, said Abu Qusay, speaking from the cemetery where they were buried.

Iraq's Sunni blocs halt parliament activities after sheikh's killing
http://news.yahoo.com/sunni-tribal-leader-seven-others-killed-baghdad-ambush-160007326.html

The mess just gets worse.Meanwhile - Daesh affiliates are popping up across the ME.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/...imbs_n_6684836.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592

The Islamic State is expanding beyond its base in Syria and Iraq to establish militant affiliates in Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt and Libya, American intelligence officials assert, raising the prospect of a new an expanded global war on terror.

 

[HossamCFD]

Daesh affiliated group in Libya beheads 21 Egyptian Christians. Egypt responds by bombing Daesh targets in Libya the next day:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-31483631

 

[Dotini]

Daesh affiliated group in Libya beheads 21 Egyptian Christians. Egypt responds by bombing Daesh targets in Libya the next day:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-31483631

I was just watching a CNN discussion of the motivation for this incident. Peter Bergen and Robert Baer, perennial CNN talking heads, both agreed daesh ardently desires US and coalition boots on the ground - in fulfillment of apocalyptic prophecy which proclaims them [wrongly] the victors and the good guys. So they see a deliberate and designed provocation to draw in western armies on the ground.

 

[HossamCFD]

I was just watching a CNN discussion of the motivation for this incident. Peter Bergen and Robert Baer, perennial CNN talking heads, both agreed daesh ardently desires US and coalition boots on the ground - in fulfillment of apocalyptic prophecy which proclaims them [wrongly] the victors and the good guys. So they see a deliberate and designed provocation to draw in western armies on the ground.

Boots on the ground, western or otherwise, is definitely something Daesh is hoping for. I don't see it as the only motivation though regarding this particular incident. Egypt has been strategically, and allegedly militarily, aiding the almost exiled Libyan government in Tobruk, which make Egyptians a target as far as Daesh in Libya is concerned (of course they would have more contempt for Christian Egyptians than Muslims). Also, there has been a lot terrorist attacks specifically targeting Egyptian soldiers in Sinai recently by a group that has pledged allegiance to Daesh (their former name was Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis, Champions of Jerusalem). These have claimed few dozens lives among Egyptian soldiers which Daesh regards as apostates. I don't think even Daesh is under the illusion that Egypt may (publicly) ask for foreign intervention in Sinai.

Regarding the recent Egyptian air strikes in Libya, this may turn ugly very quickly. First of all I do not trust the Egyptian forces have access to good enough intel to avoid bombing civilians. They certainly seem more concerned about saving their face and feel the need to do 'something', regardless of how effective it is or the collateral damage that may occur. Also if this escalates there are thousands of Egyptians living in Libya who can very easily become targets.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Here is a really interesting piece
http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/16/opinion/bergen-isis-enemies/index.html

When American aid worker Peter Kassig was murdered by ISIS in November, "Jihadi John" -- the masked British murderer who has appeared in so many ISIS videos -- said of Kassig: "We bury the first crusader in Dabiq, eagerly waiting for the rest of your armies to arrive."

In other words, ISIS wants a Western ground force to invade Syria, as that will confirm the prophecy about Dabiq.

We live in an increasingly secularized world, so it's sometimes difficult to take seriously the deeply held religious beliefs of others. For many of us the idea that the end of times will come with a battle between "Rome" and Islam at the obscure Syrian town of Dabiq is as absurd as the belief that the Mayans had that their human sacrifices could influence future events.

But for ISIS, the Dabiq prophecy is deadly serious. Members of ISIS believe that they are the vanguard fighting a religious war, which Allah has determined will be won by the forces of true Islam.

This website also has links to the ISIS magazines in english. They are extremely impressive in production. These are not made by some soliders in a desert hut. I should warn they often do include very graphic photos of their killing videos. If you can skip past those, reading the propaganda is extremely interesting.
http://www.clarionproject.org/news/islamic-state-isis-isil-propaganda-magazine-dabiq

 

[Astronuc]

I heard an interesting interview today - "Misunderstanding ‘What ISIS Daesh Really Wants"
http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2015/02/16/what-isis-wants

What ISIS Daesh Really Wants
http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/02/what-isis-really-wants/384980/

The Islamic State is no mere collection of psychopaths [but they are depraved, deranged and demented = criminally insane]. It is a religious (or perhaps anti-religious) apocalyptic ideological group with carefully considered beliefs, among them that it is a key agent of the coming apocalypse.

This is why crazy people should not be allowed access to guns or any other weapon that could harm others.

 

[jim hardy]

In order to win a war, it is not possible to harm only enemy soldiers without inflicting any harm at all on civilians. This is especially true when fighting "unconventional" terrorist enemies who dress as civilians and hide themselves among the civilian population. It is physically impossible to strike at them without killing some civilians, even some innocent people, among whom the terrorists live and plan their attacks.

US history gives two precedents of hurting civilians in order to end a war.
General Sherman said, before his march through the south:

"We cannot change the hearts and minds of those people of the South, but we can make war so terrible ... [and] make them so sick of war that generations would pass away before they would again appeal to it."

Harry Truman , born in Missouri just 20 years after the Civil War, doubtless heard his elders talking about Sherman. Myself i have no doubt that entered into his thinking about using The Bomb.

Did those ends justify those means?
i think so.

Should a civil war be put down from without?
I don't think so.

 

[Astronuc]

Italy to weigh military action in Libya if diplomacy fails
http://news.yahoo.com/italy-weigh-military-action-libya-diplomacy-fails-151857969.html

I'm sure some will see this as being somewhat prophetic - as in the 'Armies of Rome'.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

RT has a nice segment with Reza Aslan on ISIS. (first 15min is on atheism)
http://rt.com/shows/big-picture/197704-isis-islam-reza-aslan/

 

[256bits]

US history gives two precedents of hurting civilians in order to end a war.

That is, of course, assuming ISIS has the full support of the civilian population.
Most likely ISIS doesn't give a crap about what the population under their control thinks, or suffering they will endure.

 

[Astronuc]

Islamic State militants 'burn to death 45 in Iraq'
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31502863

I can't imagine anyone with a sound mind joining an organization like Daesh.Despite Horror in Libya, Experts Warn Against Military Action
https://gma.yahoo.com/despite-horror-libya-experts-warn-against-military-action-180331186--abc-news-topstories.html

And the alternative is?Meanwhile - Terror Inc.: How the Islamic State became a branding behemoth
http://news.yahoo.com/terror-inc---how-the-islamic-state-became-a-branding-behemoth-034732792.html

or how to misuse use the public domain - to glorify depraved criminal activity.

 

[Evan Maxwell]

This is why the administration's approach to this region has been so puzzling and dismaying. The US did fight a couple of wars in the region, if not to make things better, at least to keep them from getting worse. Obama has been tripping all over himself to get out of Baghdad as fast as he can, essentially saying, "Well, we tried, but it didn't make any difference that we spent all this blood and treasure here."

Expect more of the same in the near future in Afghanistan, once the drawdown of US forces there is complete. And don't expect the terrorist groups at the heart of this insurgency to confine their attentions to butchering the hapless Iraqis: once the insurgents run out of blood there, they will be looking for new victims the world over. They have captured large amounts of cash from banks in Iraq which can be used to fund new terror networks worldwide.

I do not think we have had a presidential administration in years who is able to consistently understand exactly what these types of enemies are after and what their goals are and the need to stop them before they gain any kind of influence. I have not seen much of anything that shows that Obama understands at all about the motivations of ISIS. Here is a key publication on this if you have not already seen it: http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/02/what-isis-really-wants/384980/

Basic premise - ISIS are not just a lonely group of isolated psychopaths by a long shot. They do have very powerful religious beliefs that have appealed to even well educated, richer folks in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere. Giving the Middle East more equality relative to the West and more economic opportunities will do nothing to dampen ISIS's motivation.

Luckily, ISIS seems to be on the run now, at least relative to where it was in the Middle of least year. That said, I am sure it has inspired future legions of Islamic terror groups with the exact same motivations.

 

[Borg]

Here is a key publication on this if you have not already seen it: http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/02/what-isis-really-wants/384980/

Astronuc posted that Monday in this thread (post 518).

 

[Evan Maxwell]

Oh I am sorry, I missed that, it is just really late here I guess. But this shows that these terror group justifies their actions though nothing else but a belief that they are fighting to serve God and bring about an apocalypse in which God will choose them to rule over the earth. And it does for sure validate exactly what I was saying above I think.

And I agree that groups like these should not have access to guns. But I am honestly not quite sure how we go about making sure they do not get guns. Terror organizations liker this one have exactly zero interest in what the laws about owning guns say or about what civilization expects from those who own guns. Surgical strikes and going to war with them seems to be the only way to prevent them from getting guns.

 

[Evan Maxwell]

Reza Alsan, btw, apparently did a 15 minute interview with Graeme Wood, the guy who wrote that guardian article and Aslan reiterated that the point was that, unfortunately, an interpretation of Islam was and is the inspiration for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

 

[Astronuc]

From the Atlantic article

It’s hard to overstate how hamstrung the Islamic State will be by its radicalism. The modern international system, born of the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, relies on each state’s willingness to recognize borders, however grudgingly. For the Islamic State, that recognition is ideological suicide. Other Islamist groups, such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, have succumbed to the blandishments of democracy and the potential for an invitation to the community of nations, complete with a UN seat. Negotiation and accommodation have worked, at times, for the Taliban as well. (Under Taliban rule, Afghanistan exchanged ambassadors with Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates, an act that invalidated the Taliban’s authority in the Islamic State’s eyes.) To the Islamic State these are not options, but acts of apostasy.

There is no reasoning with Daesh. They are committed to their violent ways.

Twitter under pressure to act more aggressively against terrorists
As the Islamic State’s go-to propaganda platform, the social media giant faces increasing demands to police its network

http://news.yahoo.com/twitter-under...ggressively-against-terrorists-230347109.html

So technically, Twitter is aiding terrorist organization who use their services as part of their propaganda machine. Hmmmm.

 

[jim hardy]

unfortunately, an interpretation of Islam was and is the inspiration for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

Islam would do well to deal with their problem before somebody from outside islam fixes it for them.

People have no qualms about exterminating a biological agent like Rabies that causes crazy aggressive behavior,.
If radical Islam continues de-humanizing themselves in the eyes of the world,, well, i fear it could get ugly.

"The beast keeps creeping out" Dr Moreau

 

[lisab]

What ISIS Daesh Really Wants
http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/02/what-isis-really-wants/384980/

Fascinating article. I can't see how the old-world idea of a Caliphate can possibly fit into today's world.

 

[Astronuc]

Fascinating article. I can't see how the old-world idea of a Caliphate can possibly fit into today's world.

It can't, since those aspiring to be part of the caliphate do not respect the existence of others who do not share their world view. Daesh is a threat to anyone who is not part of Daesh, and that includes Shia and Sunna, who are not part of Daesh.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Fascinating article. I can't see how the old-world idea of a Caliphate can possibly fit into today's world.

There goal is to replace today's world with that of the 7th century.

 

[Borg]

There goal is to replace today's world with that of the 7th century.

Ironically while using 21st century technology.

 

[Dotini]

US State Department figure says root cause of ISIS must be addressed by giving them jobs.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

US State Department figure says root cause of ISIS must be addressed by giving them jobs.

As a long term strategy of course. Half the reason they get so many recruits is that there are a lot of disgruntled and bored men wandering around a war torn landscape. This is up to the governments getting back in shape. That is half the problem.

 

[Pythagorean]

I wonder if jobs is really all it comes down to? The region needs to be in a better socioeconomic state, and jobs are a necessary condition, but are they sufficient?

Technically they have jobs in the regimes available to them. Isn't it infrastructure they need so that they can hold employment that will be more beneficial in the long term?

Imo, they need autonomous infrastructure, planned and implemented by themselves on their own time, but with reasonable global support.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I wonder if jobs is really all it comes down to?

No, there will always be minor terror groups around, but they won't be making head line news every day if the region was in better shape socio-economically.

 

[Pythagorean]

Sorry, I meant within the domain of socioeconomics, is jobs all it really comes down to.

 

[Pythagorean]

Also, a stronger unified state identity to minimalize feudalism.

 

[Borg]

No, there will always be minor terror groups around, but they won't be making head line news every day if the region was in better shape socio-economically.

They could also do better with an education that didn't involve spending all day in a Madrasa. But, that's probably not the politically correct thing to say...

 

[Evan Maxwell]

^^^ Indeed it isn't. But it is the hard truth. ISIS attracts the kind of people who WANT their education to revolve around madrassas. And furthermore, ISIS has been attracted members from well education, relatively privileged backgrounds from all over the Middle East, Europe and elsewhere. The US State Department saying that giving them more jobs will convince them not to try and dominate the world and execute those who won't fall in line is just mortifying. Dare I say that in terms of sheer ignorance it tops anything said by the Bush administration about these terror groups and their motivations.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Problems with the "give them jobs" theory:
Osama bin Laden - college educated multimillionaire
Mohammed Atta - son of a lawyer
Nidal Hasan - medical doctor
al Zawahiri - surgeon
Faisal Shahzad - finance guy for, all of placed, Elizabeth Arden

It's a nice story, but the data suggests otherwise.

 

[lisab]

Problems with the "give them jobs" theory:
Osama bin Laden - college educated multimillionaire
Mohammed Atta - son of a lawyer
Nidal Hasan - medical doctor
al Zawahiri - surgeon
Faisal Shahzad - finance guy for, all of placed, Elizabeth Arden

It's a nice story, but the data suggests otherwise.

But those are the leaders. I doubt many engineers, lawyers, or surgeons are successfully recruited to be suicide bombers or cannon fodder.

I don't think lack of jobs is the cause of all this mess, but I do think it contributes.

 

[Evan Maxwell]

^^^ There is a disturbing amount of evidence that suicide bombers quite often come from the middle class:

http://foreignpolicy.com/2008/01/08/suicide-bombers-warriors-of-the-middle-class/

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/31/us-syria-usa-bomber-exclusive-idUSKBN0EB0XX20140531

http://www.theguardian.com/world/20...yria-suicide-bomber-aid-worker-randeep-ramesh

http://www.factsandlogic.org/ad_98.html

At the very least, the evidence is clear that those who are recruited to be suicide bombers are not overwhelmingly those who would otherwise be beggars on the streets or hanging around in dark corners with nowhere else to go and no other opportunities. More often than not, even if they are not scientists, doctors, lawyers or engineers, they are still willing to leave reasonably stable, comfortable lives behind in order to be suicide bombers.

 

[Bystander]

Osama bin Laden - college educated multimillionaire

Center of a personality cult. Leader? Didn't do a whole lot of his own dirty work.

Mohammed Atta - son of a lawyer

Suicide cannon fodder.

Nidal Hasan - medical doctor

"Shrink" --- and all that that implies; marginal OERs; career heading for 20 years and out on the "up or out" rule(s), and no chance outside. Attempted suicide by cop?

al Zawahiri - surgeon

Encouraged others to do the dirty work.

Faisal Shahzad

Car bombing cannon fodder.

Five names, three suicides (one unsuccessful), two "leaders" who did not so much "lead" as they "inspired" others to get themselves killed. Little tough to sell the "job corps" solution with this list.

 

[russ_watters]

A surprisingly strongly worded op-ed from CNN on this:

Already a predictable tsunami of nonsense has washed over us about the "root causes" of terrorism. We have heard from Obama administration officials and even the President himself that terrorism has something to do with lack of opportunities and poverty. Obama said on Wednesday that "we have to address grievances terrorists exploit, including economic grievances."

Some leaders and foot-soldiers were listed above, but how about some stats:

Indeed, New America has studied the backgrounds of some 250 U.S.-based militants since 9/11 who have been indicted in or convicted of some kind of jihadist terrorist crime. They are on average middle class, reasonably well-educated family men with kids. They are, in short, ordinary Americans.

Similarly, in his important 2004 book "Understanding Terror Networks," psychiatrist Marc Sageman, a former CIA case officer, examined the backgrounds of 172 militants who were part of al Qaeda or a similar group. Just under half were professionals; two-thirds were either middle or upper class and had gone to college; indeed, several had doctorates.

So both American who join foreign militant groups and the foreign militants themselves tend to be middle class. Analysis:

The diagnosis that poverty, lack of education or lack of opportunities have much to do with terrorism requires a fundamentally optimistic view of human nature. This diagnosis leads to the prognosis that all we need to do to solve the terrorism problem is to create societies that are less poor, better educated and have more opportunities.

The fact is, working stiffs with few opportunities and scant education are generally too busy getting by to engage in revolutionary projects to remake society. And history, in fact, shows us that terrorism is generally a bourgeois endeavor. This was http://www.democracyjournal.org/4/6521.phpof the Russian anarchists of the late 19th century as it was of the German Marxists of the Baader-Meinhof gang of the 1970s and of the Japanese terrorist group Aum Shinrikyo in the 1990s.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/19/opinion/bergen-terrorism-root-causes/index.html

I must admit to sharing that optimism, though I do recognize it is, unfortunately possible to turn relatively ordinary people into extremists (see: Germany, 1930s). I think in theory it makes a lot of sense to say that a person with a stable job has more to lose by turning to extremism and less to complain about, but clearly the reality is much more complicated and other factors have a bigger impact. .

 

[Pythagorean]

CNN links a book for their "172 militants..." line, and reading the synopsis yielded this interesting perspective:

Using public documents, Sageman tells us that the motivation to join a militant organization does not necessarily stem from extreme poverty or extreme religious devotion but mostly from the need to escape a sense of alienation. He also disproves conventional wisdom that terrorist groups employ a "top-down" approach to recruiting, showing instead that many cells evolve from friendships and kinships and that the seeds of sedition grow as certain members of a cell influence the thinking of the others.

 

[Astronuc]

Poverty could be one cause, but so could deprivation or disaffection. Perhaps it is difficult to imagine how otherwise intelligent folks become nihilistic, apocalyptic, or otherwise violent against those who do not share their ideology or world view. It is found in all cultures/societies.

Perhaps there is some degree of mental illness involved.

 

[HossamCFD]

It is perhaps worth stressing on the fact that these Jihadists have an unimaginably strong belief that their doing the will of god, the duty that, in their minds, muslims have forsaken for centuries.

A lot of Daesh's world view and theology, though not their brutality, is shared by many non-violent Salafists*. The vast majority of Salafists have theological views that are very close to Daesh, though they are simply not ready to act on them. However, in the midst of a civil war it's not hard to imagine that some of them would start acting on those beliefs.

From my personal experience, Salafists are overrepresented in the middle and upper-middle classes. So I don't see poverty and unemployment as main causes. Though in the cases of Charlie Hebdo and Copenhagen shootings the terrorists had criminal pasts which could be partially due to financial reasons.

I do believe however that lack of quality education is a main factor. And by that I don't mean simply getting a degree in engineering or medicine. I mean educational programs that from early age promote critical thinking and questioning of ones beliefs. The lack of such education results in individuals who, although might be accomplished in their technical careers, often hold ridiculous beliefs. I know a lot of Engineers and academics with Ph.Ds who believe things like the moon landing was a hoax and evolution is a conspiracy.
*Salaf is Arabic for predecessors or founding fathers. Salafism is a movement that calls for practising Islam the way its founders did. It became widespread in the middle east starting from the 70's.

 

[Astronuc]

Of course, the Syrian (al Asad's troops) are also committing horrific crimes.

Syria forces execute 10 children of rebels: monitor
http://news.yahoo.com/syria-forces-execute-10-children-alleged-rebels-monitor-142203604.html

Beirut (AFP) - Ten children were among at least 48 people killed in a Syrian village this week when regime forces executed six families of rebel fighters, a monitoring group said on Saturday.