Trump Says He Has ‘Obliterated’ ISIS. The Terror Group Seems Not To Have Noticed. : HuffPost

WASHINGTON ― While President Donald Trump claims he has “eradicated,” “wiped out” and even “absolutely obliterated” ISIS, there is one group that has ignored the president’s words: the terrorists themselves.

According to recent estimates by the United Nations and the U.S. Defense Department’s inspector general, the self-described Islamic State has between 20,000 and 31,100 fighters ― figures nearly identical to CIA estimates of the terror group’s strength in 2014 when it was near its zenith.

What’s more, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria ― or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, as it is also known ― actually regrouped somewhat earlier this year. Foreign affairs experts suggest it will concentrate on overseas attacks now that it has lost most of the territory it used to control in Iraq and Syria.

“Despite the damage to bureaucratic structures of the so-called ‘caliphate,’ the collective discipline of ISIL is intact,” according to a July 27 report commissioned by the U.N. Security Council. “The general security and finance bureaus of ISIL are intact.”

 

Source: Trump Says He Has ‘Obliterated’ ISIS. The Terror Group Seems Not To Have Noticed. : HuffPost

Iraq: ISIS Dumped Hundreds in Mass Grave | Human Rights Watch

The Islamic State executed and dumped the bodies of possibly hundreds of detainees at a site near Mosul. This mass grave is a grotesque symbol of ISIS’s cruel and depraved conduct – a crime of a monumental scale.

Source: Iraq: ISIS Dumped Hundreds in Mass Grave | Human Rights Watch

Pentagon loses Turkish airspace access crucial in airstrikes against Isis | World news | The Guardian

Turkey coup attempt Turkey Middle East and North Africa US military Islamic State US national security US foreign policy Obama administration Iraq Syria

Source: Pentagon loses Turkish airspace access crucial in airstrikes against Isis | World news | The Guardian

Life Under the Islamic State: Civil Fines, Taxes and Punishments | The Muslim Issue

Life Under the Islamic State:Fines, Taxes and Punishments By SARAH ALMUKHTAR New York Times, MAY 26, 2016 The Islamic State is losing territory and, with it, population and resources. Its revenue h…

Source: Life Under the Islamic State: Civil Fines, Taxes and Punishments | The Muslim Issue

The threat of a global holy war

Phil Ebersole's Blog

One of the worst thing that could happen is an escalation of the U.S. “war on terror” into a global war between Christendom and Islam.  That is the goal of al Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS).

If it happened, the United States and much of Europe would become as beleaguered as Israel is today.  The devastation that has been visited on Gaza, Palestine, Iraq, Libya and Syria would be spread to the whole world.

That is why Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama were careful to distinguish jihadist terrorists from Muslims in general.

Unfortunately, there are Americans, such as Lt. General (ret) William “Jerry” Boykin, who don’t.

President Bush fired him in 2007 from his post as deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence for saying that the United States is in a holy war of Christian crusaders against Muslim jihadists.  Even though Boykin was a brave and patriotic…

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In Syria and Iraq, the Islamic State is in retreat on multiple fronts – The Washington Post

The Brussels attacks have shown the militants’ reach into Europe, but on the battlefield they are a waning force.

Source: In Syria and Iraq, the Islamic State is in retreat on multiple fronts – The Washington Post

Even after escaping Isis, the suffering of the Yazidis persists | Giles Fraser | Opinion | The Guardian

Loose canon: Isis is losing the war in northern Iraq but the social forces that created it remain unchallenged. Meanwhile the Yazidis remain stranded in exile

Source: Even after escaping Isis, the suffering of the Yazidis persists | Giles Fraser | Opinion | The Guardian

Challenges for the Islamic State: Manpower, Finance, and Information :: Middle East Forum

Originally published under the title “Challenges for the Islamic State and Restrictions on the Information Environment.” As the war against the Islamic State [IS] continues, it is clear that the state project in Iraq and Syria is facing a number of

Source: Challenges for the Islamic State: Manpower, Finance, and Information :: Middle East Forum

‘I went to join Isis in Syria, taking my four-year-old. It was a journey into hell’ | World news | The Guardian

Islamic State Syria Middle East and North Africa France

Source: ‘I went to join Isis in Syria, taking my four-year-old. It was a journey into hell’ | World news | The Guardian

Meltdowns, crises and Islamic State: a terrible year in the Middle East

Syria and IS may have dominated the news this year, but the Middle East has plenty of other problems on its hands.

Source: Meltdowns, crises and Islamic State: a terrible year in the Middle East