08-20-2014, 07:46 AM
I think IS knows that the air strikes won't be stopped because of what they did to Foley and have threatened to do to Sotloff.
That was an attempt to show power and instill fear in their own region more than anything else, IMO. IS is being pushed back, finally, after having gained so much land and wealth in Syria and Iraq over the last nearly three years. The Kurds asked for help from the US and they got it. The Iraqi PM whose policies promoted discrimination against Sunnis and Kurds has now been replaced and the new PM is promoting unity and promising more fair and secular policies.
IS has been weakened and needed to do something major in the face of losing their previously unchallenged momentum. They needed to rally their supporters and show themselves as unwavering in their quest to achieve an Islamic caliphate -- time for a statement reminding their believers about the evil of American intervention. I don't know if their move yesterday will achieve their goals at home, but agree it won't push Americans or others who oppose IS's tactics to cower in fear -- recent history proves it will have just the opposite effect on Americans and the west in general.
That was an attempt to show power and instill fear in their own region more than anything else, IMO. IS is being pushed back, finally, after having gained so much land and wealth in Syria and Iraq over the last nearly three years. The Kurds asked for help from the US and they got it. The Iraqi PM whose policies promoted discrimination against Sunnis and Kurds has now been replaced and the new PM is promoting unity and promising more fair and secular policies.
IS has been weakened and needed to do something major in the face of losing their previously unchallenged momentum. They needed to rally their supporters and show themselves as unwavering in their quest to achieve an Islamic caliphate -- time for a statement reminding their believers about the evil of American intervention. I don't know if their move yesterday will achieve their goals at home, but agree it won't push Americans or others who oppose IS's tactics to cower in fear -- recent history proves it will have just the opposite effect on Americans and the west in general.