Iraq mission: Stephen Harper says Canada won't ask Syria's consent for strikes
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/iraq...ikes-1.3006469

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has laid out his case for Canada to renew its participation in the coalition fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

The prime minister is proposing to expand and extend Canada's initial six-month military mission in Iraq and asking for support for an additional one-year air mission against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

ISIS, as an offshoot of Al Qaeda, continues to commit atrocities against humanity in Iraq, Syria and now into Libya. Unless this fast spreading violence and hatred is stopped, the carnage will most likely expand throughout the Middle East and Asia in the near future.

In reading Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) in the ongoing counterterrorism operations in Iraq, Syria and Libya, I have noticed a pattern, in the Islamic State terrorists’ “modus operandi”, that of a spider.

Spiders have eight legs and two body parts - a head region (cephalothorax) and an abdomen. Most spiders have toxic venom, which they use to kill their prey.

So if the international community wants to get rid of ISIS, hypothetically speaking, they have to get rid of the head region of ISIS, the “cephalothorax” of the spider, instead of fighting with its eight legs.


What I was trying pinpoint is that, while ISIS's headquarters (cephalothorax) is located in Syria, its survival (abdomen) depends on how much area they control in Iraq. Thus before this ISIS "spider" transform into "multi-head" and "multi-pronged" the international community has to get rid of them.

Originally Posted by Tuan

Iraq mission: Stephen Harper says Canada won't ask Syria's consent for strikes
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/iraq...ikes-1.3006469



ISIS, as an offshoot of Al Qaeda, continues to commit atrocities against humanity in Iraq, Syria and now into Libya. Unless this fast spreading violence and hatred is stopped, the carnage will most likely expand throughout the Middle East and Asia in the near future.

In reading Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) in the ongoing counterterrorism operations in Iraq, Syria and Libya, I have noticed a pattern, in the Islamic State terrorists’ “modus operandi”, that of a spider.

Spiders have eight legs and two body parts - a head region (cephalothorax) and an abdomen. Most spiders have toxic venom, which they use to kill their prey.

So if the international community wants to get rid of ISIS, hypothetically speaking, they have to get rid of the head region of ISIS, the “cephalothorax” of the spider, instead of fighting with its eight legs.


What I was trying pinpoint is that, while ISIS's headquarters (cephalothorax) is located in Syria, its survival (abdomen) depends on how much area they control in Iraq. Thus before this ISIS "spider" transform into "multi-head" and "multi-pronged" the international community has to get rid of them.

Three factors that are pillars of ISIS success in radicalization:

1.One, in 2003 we basically fired the majority of the Iraqi Army, and they went home with their weapons. Thus the insurgency resulted. Iraqi officers loyal to Sadam's Baath party used their years of military experience and organization to ultimately influence and created ISIS. That's why Baath party banners are all over the place in ISIS influenced territory.

2. We once more screwed Libya all up and made a similar mistake that we did in Iraq. We destroyed the local job market, fractured the government which is now fighting itself as it's squandered among rival rebel factions. Now there are large numbers of young men, who cannot get an education, cannot go to Europe, who are frustrated and cannot hope to get a job. Then an ISIS contact offers them $2,000 dollars. And gives them a chance as a fighter giving confidence and purpose.

3. ISIS has a very effective recruiting campaign. Using Social media and networks a large number of die hard ISIS fighters, and often the most radical are not Syrian or Iraqi's. They come from Turkey, Lebanon,Chechnya even France, Canada, Great Britain and the United States. As long as foreign fighters flock over the borders to die for the cause you will have this problem. It's exactly what destabilized Iraq in the past.

Bottom line, close the borders around the regions, get nation's like Turkey to get serious and crack down on their borders.

You are right the core leader's are from this region, but a large portion are foreign fighters.

Originally Posted by Yossarian

Three factors that are pillars of ISIS success in radicalization:

1.One, in 2003 we basically fired the majority of the Iraqi Army, and they went home with their weapons. Thus the insurgency resulted. Iraqi officers loyal to Sadam's Baath party used their years of military experience and organization to ultimately influence and created ISIS. That's why Baath party banners are all over the place in ISIS influenced territory.

2. We once more screwed Libya all up and made a similar mistake that we did in Iraq. We destroyed the local job market, fractured the government which is now fighting itself as it's squandered among rival rebel factions. Now there are large numbers of young men, who cannot get an education, cannot go to Europe, who are frustrated and cannot hope to get a job. Then an ISIS contact offers them $2,000 dollars. And gives them a chance as a fighter giving confidence and purpose.

3. ISIS has a very effective recruiting campaign. Using Social media and networks a large number of die hard ISIS fighters, and often the most radical are not Syrian or Iraqi's. They come from Turkey, Lebanon,Chechnya even France, Canada, Great Britain and the United States. As long as foreign fighters flock over the borders to die for the cause you will have this problem. It's exactly what destabilized Iraq in the past.

Bottom line, close the borders around the regions, get nation's like Turkey to get serious and crack down on their borders.

You are right the core leader's are from this region, but a large portion are foreign fighters.

Yossarian, I agree with your points. But, the Canadian Prime Minister Harper is asking the support of the parliament to extend and expand Canada’s military mission one more year particularly targeting Syria. However the opposition parties, both New Democrats and Liberals, are opposing this and suggesting that Canada should involve in humanitarian missions, such as helping to solve the refugee crisis and other aid work in Iraq and Syria.

IMHO, the opposition parties’ idea does have a long term strategic advantage and we could benefit from it down the road. First we have to isolate the insurgents/terrorists from the general populace. Let the refugees come out and settle them in other countries thereby showcasing the soft power of Canada/NATO rather than PM Harper’s hard power strategy which is bombing Iraq and Syria. By weeding the insurgents out of legitimate refugees, we can eventually apply Mao Tse Tung’s theory that “insurgents are like fish in an ocean of people”. By separating the “ocean” of general populace from the insurgent “fish” we will be able to determine the survival of the enemy insurgents/terrorists.

The following report is a clear evident how badly the insurgents want to block aid inside the conflict zone.

Both Islamic State group, Syria government slow down aid: UN
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...9c9_story.html

And how should one separate the ocean of population from the insurgent fish ?

Originally Posted by lljadw

And how should one separate the ocean of population from the insurgent fish ?

Airstrikes alone at this time are not doing it.

Originally Posted by Yossarian

Airstrikes alone at this time are not doing it.

This is true Yossarian, but they do some whittling away at the buggers when we catch them in the open.

It's a shame we aren't stationed in nearby Turkey "rather than on carriers in the gulf" we could be on them in a heartbeat, use virtually nil fuel and have a lot more planes ready to strike, since Turkey has 1st rate military air bases only a stones away from the combat zone. Right know each carrier based strike cost us a small fortune.

Originally Posted by lljadw

And how should one separate the ocean of population from the insurgent fish ?

Good question indeed!

If you are able to win the hearts and minds of the general populace they will do the job for you. Isn’t it the core strategy of COIN doctrine?

Yes, we have to win the hearts and minds of the people. That’s where a great nation’s soft power plays its part.

Hard power is vital in order to safe guard a nation’s interest, however, when we confront an enemy of different faces we have to explore other options and tools to combat them by the means of non-military strategies.

Remember, according to Sun Tzu, the best way to win a war is without even fighting it.

As such, eliminating the will to fight and destroying the spirit of the enemy’s potential to fight is also paramount.

An ideology has to be fought with another set of ideologies, rather than by swords and guns; may it be a religious ideology, ethno-nationalist ideology or secessionist ideology.

An American Congresswoman, Jane Harman, had pointed out in her blog that "while the 'hard power' represented by drone strikes and aircraft carriers is essential to our security, living and portraying our values is as - if not more - important in the long run". She went on to say that "we have a responsibility to craft a winning narrative. When we fail to step up and define ourselves, the extremists will be happy to do it for us..."

Fighting terrorism softly
By Jane Harman
http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/0...oftly-opinion/

What I am trying to say here is that: “Don’t use cannon to kill a mosquito….” – Confucius

"The image of Islamic State has become a beacon for the radicalized youth; even girls travel to join the terrorist group, willingly becoming sex slaves. What drives young minds towards an organization considered too violent even for Al-Qaeda? We ask the man who was once a radical jihadist, turned undercover agent and expert on terrorism. Mubin Shaikh is on Sophie & Co...."

Inside ISIS: 'Terrorism is new counter-culture for youngsters' - undercover jihadist to RT
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeKe2iZb_Hg&feature=youtu.be"]Inside ISIS: 'Terrorism is new counter-culture for youngsters' - undercover jihadist to RT - YouTube[/ame]