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from the tell-me-of-the-waters-of-your-home-world-Usul dept.
Water has long played a role in armed struggle, from the Allied bombing of German dams during World War II to Saddam Hussein’s draining of Iraq’s southern marshes in the 1990s to punish residents for an anti-government rebellion. Now Erin Cunningham reports in the Washington Post that Islamic State militants are increasingly using water as a weapon, cutting off supplies to villages resisting their rule and pressing to expand their control over the country’s water infrastructure. The Islamic State “understands how powerful water is as a tool, and they are not afraid to use it,” said Michael Stephens. "A lot of effort has been expended to control resources in Iraq in a way not seen in other conflicts."
The White House was so alarmed in August when Islamic State fighters briefly seized the Mosul Dam — located on the Tigris River that runs through Baghdad — that it backed a major operation by Iraqi and Kurdish forces to wrest it back. “If that dam was breached, it could have proven catastrophic, with floods that would have threatened the lives of thousands of civilians and endangered our embassy compound in Baghdad,” said Obama. Last month, the Islamic State used its control of the Sudur mini-dam north of Baghdad to cut off water to Balad Ruz, a predominantly Shiite area of Diyala province. According to the town’s mayor, the militants lined the roads to the dam with improvised explosive devices, and the government was forced to hire trucks to bring potable water to the residents. “They can threaten many parts of the country if they control the water,” says Abdul Majid Satar. "They want to control it at any price."
(Score: 0, Troll) by albert on Wednesday October 08 2014, @07:13AM
We know how to deal with the situation. We're just too wimpy.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by janrinok on Wednesday October 08 2014, @08:09AM
So killing the people that we are trying to help while killing the bad guys seems like a good solution to you does it? Or do you have the inside scoop on a super-secret selective neutron bomb that we are not being told about?
(Score: 2) by mtrycz on Wednesday October 08 2014, @09:16AM
It really worries me that comments like the GP are running. It's like you're out of reality.
Have these facts:
Tens of thousands of combatants from Daesh (or ISIS or ISIL or IS, don't know how to call it anymore), already conquered a territory the size of Belgium, while killing thousands and provoking mass refugee movements; still more than eight million civilians live in those territories.
If you want to drop a bomb on 8.000.000 people to kill 50.000, well, you have problems.
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(Score: 2) by mtrycz on Wednesday October 08 2014, @09:19AM
Oh and religion has basically *nothing* to do with it. It's jsut an excuse (good as any other) for establishing their dominion.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 12 2014, @02:35PM
Bullshit. There are lots of people travelling to join them solely because they believe in the religious ideology of ISIS. How loudly do ISIS have to proclaim it is a religious movement before you will actually believe them?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 08 2014, @10:18AM
Well, according to that logic, why not just blow up the entire planet? That would certainly put an end to all wars, and all other human problems as well.
(Score: 2) by nitehawk214 on Wednesday October 08 2014, @01:43PM
How is making the dam radioactive going to help?
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2) by Alfred on Wednesday October 08 2014, @01:45PM
Wait! What? I don't remember posting that.
Oh, nevermind, carry on.
Pardon my possible ignorance but do neutron bombs even exist? I have heard about them for years but I have never heard of a time they were used or any other proof they actually exist. And the effects of using one differ depending on who is telling you about them.
(Score: 2) by Yog-Yogguth on Wednesday October 08 2014, @03:10PM
Yeah they're old news [wikipedia.org], as are really big non-nuclear thermobaric weapons [wikipedia.org].
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