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Pakistani attorney and author Rafia Zakaria wrote an op-ed in Al Jazeera America about the Islamic extremists' war on fun, including sports, music, even dining in a fine restaurant. Zakaria points out that this apparent obsession predates the existence of ISIS by several decades (at least); he suspects this is a big reason why the attackers chose Paris, renowned worldwide for its brilliant culture and joie de vivre.
Terrorism’s targeting of the merry is universal and indiscriminate, a division of the world between those who wish to live and laugh and hope and those who kill and destroy. The latter are deadly and relentless, and they have already squeezed out the mirth from too many of the world’s cities, from Karachi, Kabul and Baghdad to Nairobi and Beirut.
Zakaria experienced this aspect of terror firsthand. A high school friend had just passed a big exam, and was out celebrating with his family at a restaurant in Karachi, Pakistan, when terrorists struck.
Al Jazeera America provides a separate analysis warning that military action alone cannot defeat ISIS (aka ISIL), which of course is not a "nation" in the traditional sense, but more of a guerilla outfit like Al Qaeda, that opportunistically seized a stronghold in chaotic regions of Syria and Iraq. The piece's author, political scientist Rami G. Khouri, recommends that both the West and Muslim nations of the Middle East spend more resources on addressing economic and political problems facing impoverished youths who are potentially attracted by the ISIS' recruiting pitch:
If the underlying threats to ordinary citizens’ lives in autocratic Arab-Islamic societies remain unaddressed — from jobs, water and health insurance, to free elections, a credible justice system and corruption — the flow of recruits to movements like ISIL or something even worse will persist and even accelerate.
(Score: 2) by jmorris on Wednesday November 18 2015, @05:13AM
Do the math. Oil tanker trucks (per Wikipedia) carry 5500 gallons or more per load. On the typical roads over there probably tending more toward that lower bound. Break that up into barrels at about 300lbs ea and compare to the load capacity of the typical truck. If they had a lot of heavy trucks they wouldn't be mounting machine guns on crappy little Toyota light duty trucks. Even if they found enough 3/4 ton pickups they still need ten to replace one tanker. They would need a -lot- of drivers which would tie up a lot of their scarce manpower ferrying penny ante amounts of oil out. Either it won't be much money or the roads will be obviously congested with trucks, which again makes for an easy target. Traveling halfway across the area and joining ISIS to kill infidels in glorious battle and get the virgins in the afterlife is one thing, getting turned into greasy spots by the hundreds on a lonely highway trying to make a few bux is another.
And just as an I told ya so, in the aftermath of the Paris attacks somebody in Washington figured they better be seen doing something so news has broke that the UFAF took out 116 ISIS oil tankers. And as I foretold they used four warthogs along with two AC-130 gunships. This according to the NYT.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday November 18 2015, @02:32PM
Hmm yes scalability always a problem, you are correct in that.