The White House says that the U.S. is not at war with the Islamic State. But the Islamic State certainly is at war with the U.S. “Islamic State Promises to ‘Drown All of You in Blood,'” by David Ludwig, The Wire, August 19, 2014:
According to Reuters, a newly released video by the Islamic State shows a picture of an American man who had been beheaded in Iraq during the initial U.S. invasion with a caption that translated into English reads, “we will drown all of you in blood.”
The Islamic State has focused on its goal of establishing a caliphate by seizing land in Iraq in Syria before launching any potential attacks on the West. Osama Bin Laden famously warned of the risks of establishing a caliphate too early, writing in a document seized in the raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan that an Islamic State could have the adverse affect of dividing the Sunni population.
While Sunnis alienated by the Shia government of Nouri al-Maliki have actually helped the Islamic State’s swift march through the northern part of the country, many suggest that defeating the Islamic State will only come with Sunni support.
In the meantime U.S. airstrikes have helped Kurdish and Iraqi Army forces take back some territory in the northern part of the country that had been seized by ISIL. On Monday, the Iraqis regained control of the strategically important Mosul Dam, which has previously been referred to as “the most dangerous dam in the world.”
Part of the U.S. offensive in Iraq involves targeting millions of dollars of its own equipment given to the Iraqi Army during the U.S. occupation and later seized by Islamic State militants after they seized two Iraqi military bases this summer. According to Reuters, some of the hardware the U.S. is attempting to destroy includes M1 Abrams tanks (about $6 million per), Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (about $1 million per), and 53 M198 Howitzer cannons ($527,337 per).
Reuters estimates that the U.S. spends somewhere between $84,000 and $104,000 to destroy between $1 and $12 million of its own military hardware per airstrike.
John C. Barile says
“We are not at war with Islam”; “we are not at war with ISIL”– I put it to you that Mr. Obama is a blathering imbecile.
Champ says
I put it to you that Mr. Obama is a blathering imbecile.
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Indeed, John! …a *dangerous & evil* blathering imbecile.
John C. Barile says
He’s mentally deficient if he thinks We The People will let him and his surrogates spoon-feed us this tripe.
Jay Boo says
Drop Obama McCain and Hillary in Northern Iraq to train the Islamic State in true Islam in order to ‘correct’ their misunderstanding of religion.
Either way it should work out just fine.
Guy Macher says
In short– he’s a Muslim!
PRCS says
JCB wrote:
“We are not at war with Islam”; “we are not at war with ISIL”
That IS true, John. We’re not at war.
Islam is an ideology. The International community does not recognize the Islamic State as a nation. ISIL is a group of people.
As a nation, we cannot be at war with an ideology or a group of people.
We were not at war with Nazis or Nazism during WWII. We were at war with the government of Germany. The same, essentially, with Japan and Italy.
Islam teaches reversion, dihmmitude, or warfare against “unbelievers”. But that does not mean that we are obliged to comply with THEIR ideology.
The U.S. government is obliged to protect the citizens, the property and the interests of America.
Whether it is police or military personnel who do that, the goal is protection against criminal activity.
We are not at war, my friend.
But, there are many Muslims who believe that they ARE at war with us.
John C. Barile says
Those millions of dollars in high-end armaments the IS has gotten from us are likely turning the tide in Syria, whose obsolete borders we still respect–thus conceding a safe haven to IS.
John C. Barile says
They are likely to trigger a nuclear holocaust–and be devoured by it–at the hands of the Israelis and Iranians, not ours.
Champ says
Islamic State to U.S.: “We will drown all of you in blood”
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Wow IS is pure EVIL …they are *beyond* EVIL, if that’s possible.
And they could just say “we’re gonna kill you all”, but no, they have to be so colorful …”drown all of you in blood” …what savages!
John C. Barile says
These Islamics are so colorful–red for carnage, black for darkness; black for more darkness; still more black for ever more darkness.
White for death; green for putrefaction.
Yellow for HAMAS’ corwardice and perfidy.
paddy says
They could simply say ‘we are going to kill you all’, but this would sound like disturbed individuals with a grudge. However, ‘We are going to drown you all in blood’ is more the ravings of total psychotics who have already done this.
They probably said ‘and drink it’, but it may have got lost in translation.
bobm says
Mr. OBAMA.. .. did you not provide Qatar with a huge arsenal of weapons?…. QaTar is BACKING ISIS!…. WTF. !?
Bezelel says
He just approved more for them and reused Israel. WTF indeed
Bezelel says
Typo… refused
Woflgang says
Drown us in our own blood ? how can any sane rational thinking human being say that Islam is non violent ? beheading someone because they don’t choose to agree with your belief is just pure savagery, they should all be sent to hell with the Baal courtesy of the special forces the US and Britain etc have. Heck we all know that in a one on one fight the “all at the snack bar ” fighters ( cowards ) would flee or stab you in the back.
Nuke em all, even the kids are brainwashed from birth to hate us.
Bezelel says
I want one of those T shirts like the guy wore to six flags and got ejected.
“Keep Calm Return Fire”
paddy says
A brief encounter in downtown Mosul between a Mr G. Had and a Mr Si Co
G- ‘Hi Si…you don’t look so good’
S-‘Nah…I’m just tired…I was up half the night trying out my two new sex slaves. $20 apiece…real bargain.
G- ‘Wow! Great! I’m just off to the two O’clock crucifixions. I wanted to go to this morning’s beheadings but I got caught up decorating my second home.
S- ‘Ok…you mean the one next door where those awful Christians used to live…or was it Yazidis? Anyway, who gives a fuck?
G- ‘Exactly…say, why don’t you inform on your neighbours. They’re Kurds, aren’t they?
S- ‘What! Are you crazy? We kicked them out months ago. Some homeless sunnis got it for nothing. Did you read this morning’s paper?
G- ‘Very funny…you know I can’t read’.
S- ‘Sorry…I keep forgetting half the islamic world is illiterate’.
G- ‘Hmmm…shame. Well I never. LOOK’!
S- ‘What’?
G- ‘That woman over there…shamelessly flaunting her ankles’.
S- ‘Quick…grab a handful of stones….HEY EVERYONE’! etc,etc