The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant Megathread

[11B4V]

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/09/russia-decries-shelling-embassy-syria-150921160048570.html

Russia decries shelling of its embassy in Syria
Russian foreign ministry calls for "concrete action" in the wake of Sunday's attack on its embassy compound.
21 Sep 2015 21:31 GMT | War & Conflict, Middle East, Syria, Russia

Good luck Russia.

[Jaron]

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/09/russia-decries-shelling-embassy-syria-150921160048570.html

Russia decries shelling of its embassy in Syria
Russian foreign ministry calls for "concrete action" in the wake of Sunday's attack on its embassy compound.
21 Sep 2015 21:31 GMT | War & Conflict, Middle East, Syria, Russia

Good luck Russia.

[Tamas]

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/09/russia-decries-shelling-embassy-syria-150921160048570.html

Russia decries shelling of its embassy in Syria
Russian foreign ministry calls for "concrete action" in the wake of Sunday's attack on its embassy compound.
21 Sep 2015 21:31 GMT | War & Conflict, Middle East, Syria, Russia

In other news, Germany is FURIOUS that Polish troops attacked a radio station in Gleiwitz on the German-Polish border.

And the US is furious about the explosion of his warship in Cuba.

[KRonn]

Russia decries shelling of its embassy in Syria
Russian foreign ministry calls for "concrete action" in the wake of Sunday's attack on its embassy compound.
21 Sep 2015 21:31 GMT | War & Conflict, Middle East, Syria, Russia

Welcome to the party pal! Just wait, it gets much better!

[Valmy]

And the US is furious about the explosion of his warship in Cuba.

Dirty Spanish monsters. How else could one explain the explosion of a ship loaded with coal and gunpowder?

[11B4V]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/isis-defectors-report_560006a4e4b08820d919404d?cps=gravity_2684_6549381859340469761



Not all it's cracked up to be, eh.

Corruption
False advertising

Another reason fighters say they defected is dismay that Islamic State militants kill civilians, including women and children

Conflict between the Islamic State group and other militants -- instead of focusing on fighting to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad

The group's propaganda often makes false promises of a fully functional society based on its interpretation of Islamic law, replete with wealth, socials services and even its own currency.


One of the four main reasons former members defected was that they became fed up with the level of corruption from individual commanders, and what defectors referred to as "un-Islamic" practices.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/21/opinions/isis-defectors-neumann-amanpour/index.html?sr=fb092115isisdefectors0942aaStoryGalLink

http://icsr.info/2015/09/icsr-report-narratives-islamic-state-defectors/

The Narratives

Among the 58 defectors, we found four narratives that were particularly strong:


1)    One of the most persistent criticisms was the extent to which the group is fighting against other Sunni rebels. According to the defectors, toppling the Assad regime didn't seem to be a priority, and little was done to help the (Sunni) Muslims who were targeted by it.

Most of the group's attention, they said, was consumed by quarrels with other rebels and the leadership's obsession with 'spies' and 'traitors'. This was not the kind of jihad they had come to Syria and Iraq to fight.

2)    Another narrative dealt with the group's brutality. Many complained about atrocities and the killing of innocent civilians. They talked about the random killing of hostages, the systematic mistreatment of villagers, and the execution of fighters by their own commanders.

None of the episodes they mentioned involved minorities, however. Brutality didn't seem to be a universal concern: it was seen through a sectarian lens, and caused outrage mostly when its victims were other Sunnis.

3)    The third narrative was corruption. Though none believed that corruption was systemic, many disapproved of the conduct of individual commanders and 'emirs'. Syrian defectors criticized the privileges that were given to foreigners, for which they claimed was no justification based on the group's philosophy or Islam in general.

While many were willing to tolerate the hardships of war, they found it impossible to accept instances of unfairness, inequality, and racism. "This is not a holy war", said a defector from India, whom the group had forced to clean toilets because of his color of skin.

4)    A fourth narrative was that life under the Islamic State was harsh and disappointing. The defectors who expressed this view were typically the ones who had joined the group for 'selfish' reasons – and who quickly realized that none of the luxury goods and cars that they had been promised would materialize.

For others, their experience in combat didn't live up to their expectations of action and heroism. One of them referred to his duties as 'dull' and complained about the lack of deployments, while another claimed that foreign fighters were 'exploited' and used as cannon fodder.

[PJL]

Heh, sounds like that article reminds of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS-0Az7dgRY

[mongers]

Everything is Awesome:

U.S.-trained Syrian rebels gave equipment to Nusra: U.S. military

Syrian rebels trained by the United States gave some of their equipment to the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front in exchange for safe passage, a U.S. military spokesman said on Friday, the latest blow to a troubled U.S. effort to train local partners to fight Islamic State militants.

The rebels surrendered six pick-up trucks and some ammunition, or about one-quarter of their issued equipment, to a suspected Nusra intermediary on Sept. 21-22 in exchange for safe passage, said Colonel Patrick Ryder, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, in a statement.

"If accurate, the report of NSF members providing equipment to al Nusra Front is very concerning and a violation of Syria train and equip program guidelines," Ryder said, using an acronym for the rebels, called the New Syrian Forces.

U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East, was told of the equipment surrender around 1 p.m. on Friday, Ryder said. Earlier on Friday, Ryder had said all weapons and equipment issued to the rebels remained under their control
....

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/25/us-mideast-crisis-usa-equipment-idUSKCN0RP2HO20150925?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=twitter

So probably not a shot fired in anger yet and the current 'wave' of fighters have already handed over weapons to an Al-Qaeda group in Syria.   

[11B4V]

Everything is Awesome:

U.S.-trained Syrian rebels gave equipment to Nusra: U.S. military

Syrian rebels trained by the United States gave some of their equipment to the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front in exchange for safe passage, a U.S. military spokesman said on Friday, the latest blow to a troubled U.S. effort to train local partners to fight Islamic State militants.

The rebels surrendered six pick-up trucks and some ammunition, or about one-quarter of their issued equipment, to a suspected Nusra intermediary on Sept. 21-22 in exchange for safe passage, said Colonel Patrick Ryder, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, in a statement.

"If accurate, the report of NSF members providing equipment to al Nusra Front is very concerning and a violation of Syria train and equip program guidelines," Ryder said, using an acronym for the rebels, called the New Syrian Forces.

U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East, was told of the equipment surrender around 1 p.m. on Friday, Ryder said. Earlier on Friday, Ryder had said all weapons and equipment issued to the rebels remained under their control
....

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/25/us-mideast-crisis-usa-equipment-idUSKCN0RP2HO20150925?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=twitter

So probably not a shot fired in anger yet and the current 'wave' of fighters have already handed over weapons to an Al-Qaeda group in Syria.   

I guess the "glass half full" thought would be, the al Nusra Front is fighting ISIS.

[Admiral Yi]

My glass half full thought is we only spent 500 mill so Obama could look like he was tough on Syria.

[Razgovory]

My glass half full thought is we only spent 500 mill so Obama could look like he was tough on Syria.

Pretty cheap considering how much has been spent to "look tough" over the last 70 years.

[11B4V]

IIRC, off the top of the head

al-Zawahiri (AQC) set up

AQI or AQM run by al-Zarqawi, who was a loose cannon according to AQC. They were trying to get him under heel. He was killed in 2006. AQI/AQM changed to ISI run by al-Masri & Hamza al-Baghdadi, both KIA 2010. Bakr al-Baghdadi (ISI)  took over and changed it to the ISIL.  Bakr al-Baghdadi and AQC established al Nusra (AQS aka aNF). Around 2013, Bakr al-Baghdadi tried to pull al Nursa as part of his fold. Leader of al Nusra, al-Julani, rejected this and stated he was with AQC.  al-Zawahiri (AQC)
told Bakr al-Baghdadi (ISIL) and Mohammad al-Julani (aNF), the merger was not sanctioned. Bakr al-Baghdadi (ISIL) fired back at al-Zawahiri (AQC) stating it was happening. al-Zawahiri (AQC) stated (aNF) would be the only AQ affiliate in Syria and ordered the disbandment of ISIL.

Hence where we sit now...that made my head hurt. Fascinating none the less.

So, AQ is technically fighting ISIL so to speak.       

[11B4V]

AQ=Al-Qaeda
I= Iraq
M=Mesopotamia
C=Central or Central Command
S=Syria
aNF=al Nusra Front

[Valmy]

My glass half full thought is we only spent 500 mill so Obama could look like he was tough on Syria.

Tough on whom in Syria? Tough on Assad? Tough on ISIS? Tough on Russia? Tough on a general sense of Syrianness?

[11B4V]

My glass half full thought is we only spent 500 mill so Obama could look like he was tough on Syria.

Tough on whom in Syria? Tough on Assad? Tough on ISIS? Tough on Russia? Tough on a general sense of Syrianness?

Sounds like the administration's policy so far. Hence why the Russkies didn't even bother with a, by your leave. Not that they had to anyway.