I think ISIS is a little different than from say the Russians invading the Ukraine or the US invading Iraq. It's more like the Nazis or the Japanese in WWII taken even further in it's brainwashing. What else is disturbing is that it gets it's disaffected recruits from all over the world, not just Muslim countries. It's not only a war of territory and power, it's a war of ideas.
But in the modern battlefield its day is coming to an end. But against a group like ISIS its a very effective weapon.
Isn't the current war "the modern battleground" though?
This is (honestly) not me trying to pretend I'm an expert or even slightly versed in these issues because I read an article, but this guy makes a pretty good argument (and seems to be an expert).
..."Today’s weapons can be decades in gestation, and the history of the F-35 traces back long before most of today’s troops were born. Two early-1970s-era planes, the F-16 “Fighting Falcon” jet and the A-10 “Thunderbolt II” attack plane, departed from the trend of military design in much the same way the compact Japanese cars of that era departed from the tail-fin American look. These planes were relatively cheap, pared to their essentials, easy to maintain, and designed to do a specific thing very well. For the F-16, that was to be fast, highly maneuverable, and deadly in air-to-air combat. For the A-10, it was to serve as a kind of flying tank that could provide what the military calls “close air support” to troops in combat by blasting enemy formations. The A-10 needed to be heavily armored, so it could absorb opposing fire; designed to fly as slowly as possible over the battlefield, rather than as rapidly, so that it could stay in range to do damage rather than roaring through; and built around one very powerful gun.
There are physical devices that seem the pure expression of a function. The Eames chair, a classic No. 2 pencil, the original Ford Mustang or VW Beetle, the MacBook Air—take your pick. The A-10, generally known not as the Thunderbolt but as the Warthog, fills that role in the modern military. It is rugged; it is inexpensive; it can shred enemy tanks and convoys by firing up to 70 rounds a second of armor-piercing, 11-inch-long depleted-uranium shells.
And the main effort of military leaders through the past decade, under the Republican leadership of the Bush administration and the Democratic leadership of Obama, has been to get rid of the A-10 so as to free up money for a more expensive, less reliable, technically failing airplane that has little going for it except insider dealing, and the fact that the general public doesn’t care.
The weapon in whose name the A-10 is being phased out is its opposite in almost every way. In automotive terms, it would be a Lamborghini rather than a pickup truck (or a flying tank). In air-travel terms, the first-class sleeper compartment on Singapore Airlines rather than advance-purchase Economy Plus (or even business class) on United. These comparisons seem ridiculous, but they are fair. That is, a Lamborghini is demonstrably “better” than a pickup truck in certain ways—speed, handling, comfort—but only in very special circumstances is it a better overall choice. Same for the first-class sleeper, which would be anyone’s choice if someone else were footing the bill but is simply not worth the trade-off for most people most of the time..."
"My troops had completed a planning session with senior Iraqi leaders several kilometers behind the front lines," Canadian special forces commander Brigadier General Michael Rouleau said.
"When they moved forward to confirm the planning at the front lines in order to visualize what they had discussed over a map, they came under immediate and effective mortar and machine gunfire."
Canadian special forces came under ISIS fire sometime in the last week when they went to the front lines in Iraq following a planning session with senior Iraqi leaders, their commanding officer told reporters in Ottawa on Monday.
Brig.-Gen. Michael Rouleau, commander of the Canadian special operations forces command, said forces came under "immediate and effective mortar fire" and responded with sniper fire, "neutralizing the mortar and the machine-gun position."He said the response was consistent with the inherent right of self-defence and suggested it was an incident typical of military missions, one that wouldn't have been unusual even in past Canadian peacekeeping missions.
hahahahahahha
Good i am glad they responded.
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Captain James P. DeCOSTE, CD, 18 Sep 1993
An online video released Tuesday purported to show the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria roup threatening to kill two Japanese hostages unless they receive a $200 million ransom in the next 72 hours.
The video, identified as being made by the ISIS's al-Furqan media arm and posted on militant websites associated with the extremist group, mirrored other hostage threats it has made. The militant in it also directly addresses Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, now on a six-day visit to the Middle East with more than 100 government officials and presidents of Japanese companies.
The speaker in the video brandishes a knife and sounds like a British militant involved in other filmed beheadings by ISIS.
__________________ "I think the eye test is still good, but analytics can sure give you confirmation: what you see...is that what you really believe?" Scotty Bowman, 0 NHL games played
ISIS is smart, this is less about recruiting dedicated Jihadists, and extremists, and more about recruiting angry losers with the promise of thrill killing and rape.
It would be nice if we could quietly evacuate the civilians from the area one night and then carpet bomb the area out of existence.
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An online video released Tuesday purported to show the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria roup threatening to kill two Japanese hostages unless they receive a $200 million ransom in the next 72 hours.
The video, identified as being made by the ISIS's al-Furqan media arm and posted on militant websites associated with the extremist group, mirrored other hostage threats it has made. The militant in it also directly addresses Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, now on a six-day visit to the Middle East with more than 100 government officials and presidents of Japanese companies.
The speaker in the video brandishes a knife and sounds like a British militant involved in other filmed beheadings by ISIS.
Now they are beheading infidels...... Unless they get a lot of money.
I like the idea of carpet bombing ISIS-held areas with beer, pornography and BBQ pork products. Get 'em fed, get 'em drunk and get their rocks off and they'll probably be a lot happier and less lethal.
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I like the idea of carpet bombing ISIS-held areas with beer, pornography and BBQ pork products. Get 'em fed, get 'em drunk and get their rocks off and they'll probably be a lot happier and less lethal.
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Captain James P. DeCOSTE, CD, 18 Sep 1993
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I like the idea of carpet bombing ISIS-held areas with beer, pornography and BBQ pork products. Get 'em fed, get 'em drunk and get their rocks off and they'll probably be a lot happier and less lethal.
I've heard of cases where people have poisoned ISIS fighters, but I'm surprised someone hasn't tried mass-releasing some type of airborne virus amongst the ISIS ranks. Maybe not a lethal virus, but one where ISIS' fighters would be severely weakened and their capacity to mount any offense would be stunted.
I suppose there would be collateral damage with citizens too; I just wonder if that's ever gone through the minds of coalition members, or even resistance fighting groups.
I've heard of cases where people have poisoned ISIS fighters, but I'm surprised someone hasn't tried mass-releasing some type of airborne virus amongst the ISIS ranks. Maybe not a lethal virus, but one where ISIS' fighters would be severely weakened and their capacity to mount any offense would be stunted.
I suppose there would be collateral damage with citizens too; I just wonder if that's ever gone through the minds of coalition members, or even resistance fighting groups.
I'd imagine that would fall under "biological warfare". But giving ISIS a collective case of the H1N1 doesn't strike me as a bad idea. Burn a few tons of high-grade marijuana upwind from their camps?
O/T but relevant: how has Boko Haram NOT contracted Ebola?
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