What Major General Nagata says is absolutely correct: the U.S. government and military does not understand the Islamic State, and as long as that continues, the U.S. will never defeat the Islamic State. But why don’t they understand the Islamic State? Because the Obama Administration has forbidden investigation of Islamic doctrine in connection with terrorism. The Obama Administration wants to pretend that jihad terror has nothing to do with Islam. As long as it persists in this delusion, the U.S. will never understand — or defeat — the Islamic State.
“In Battle to Defang ISIS, U.S. Targets Its Psychology,” by Eric Schmitt, New York Times, December 28, 2014 (thanks to Bill):
WASHINGTON — Maj. Gen. Michael K. Nagata, commander of American Special Operations forces in the Middle East, sought help this summer in solving an urgent problem for the American military: What makes the Islamic State so dangerous?
Trying to decipher this complex enemy — a hybrid terrorist organization and a conventional army — is such a conundrum that General Nagata assembled an unofficial brain trust outside the traditional realms of expertise within the Pentagon, State Department and intelligence agencies, in search of fresh ideas and inspiration. Business professors, for example, are examining the Islamic State’s marketing and branding strategies.
“We do not understand the movement, and until we do, we are not going to defeat it,” he said, according to the confidential minutes of a conference call he held with the experts. “We have not defeated the idea. We do not even understand the idea.”
cs says
If we do, how come they don’t?
Georg says
It’s some combination of willful ignorance and fantasy which is unfortunately incredibly popular among elites.
Chabuco says
Plain old ignorance and wishful thinking
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wishful_thinking
Joe says
It is not ignorance. It is a concerted 50 year campaign to whitewash islamic fascism.
How come that the 1966 Readers Digest edition of Ibn Ishaq can describe Mohammed’s islamic state as “totalitarian”?
How come the TinTin comics could release a 1977 version of Ibn Ishaq AIMED AT FRENCH CHILDREN, and tell the truth about Mohammed and his violent rise to power?
The academics, journalists and politicians in the West are determined that the truth about islam shall not be spoken.
When I woke up to this 5 years ago, and started to hunt out people who knew their way around islam, I found it literally in-credible that throughout history muslims and knowledgeable westerners had been quite happy to describe the violence worshipped in islam. I could not believe that muslims’ own books could say these things, yet our own media and academics had been lying to me for decades.
Ignorance does not cut it. When our so-called political leaders can claim to read out from the koran and yet the things they read out exist in no koran, we are being deceived. They are not ignorant. They are deliberately deceiving people. I do not believe there is any other issue in the last 100 years when the population of western countries have been so systematically misled.
NoMoreRINOs says
BINGO!
vlparker says
It all boils down to political correctness. Deep down they truly do understand it, but they don’t want to publicly admit it because that would be racist and islamophobic. It’s because the left hates America and loves multi-culti so much they are willing to commit suicide in order not to offend anyone. There must be some psychological term to describe this disease of the mind but I don’t know what it is.
Georg says
He’d better be careful asking too many questions… He may find himself “resigning”.
mariam rove says
OT: George is this you from Denver Colorado?m
Georg says
I’m not George or from Colorado 😛
mariam rove says
Thank you. M
Champ says
Happy Birthday, PJ!! ..and mine’s on the 1st 🙂
Champ says
OT: George is this you from Denver Colorado?m
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mariam, our friend George said ‘Hello’ to me a few days ago, so it’s great to see that he’s still around and posting as “Geo”, now! And have a Happy New Year, my friend!
Islam_Macht_Frei says
Y – to “spend more time with his family.”
Bezelel says
I recommend they call Robert Spencer.
Roderick MacUalraig says
They used to, that’s what’s most sad.
PCMC has caused us to weaken our defenses against totalitarian Pedomohammadans.
Jay Boo says
Real Simple
Their is no limit to the evil Muslims will do because:
To live as a Muslim is to exist without honor.
bobm says
it is PC and administrably acceptable… nay obsessively incumbent upon the administration of many countries to engage in apologetics with infamy.
Jay Boo says
Islamic State has killed over a hundred of its followers.
Most of them were foreign fighters who finally realized they were secretly despised by their Arabic speaking ‘brothers’ and wanted to return home to mommy before they were used as sodomy sex slaves by the Islamic State whenever a supply of goats was not around.
Don McKellar says
In a sane and logical world where telling the truth and pointing out the obvious would be rewarded with respect and careful consideration followed by intelligent action to correct wrongs and succeed, Major General Nagata would be promoted and put in charge. However, we do not live in that sane and logical world. We live in a politically correct one, corrupted by massive wealth from Arab States, Big Oil, and the US Mititary Industrial Complex — all sheltered by a leftist delusional mainstream media. And Major General Nagata is headed for nothing but hot water for speaking honestly and pragmatically like that. He has put himself directly at odds with his President, from whom he takes orders.
manuel-rafael says
THERE IS NOTHING COMPLICATED ABOUT IT, ISIS // IL ARE THE MODERATE REBELS FROM THE BENGHAZI BETRAYAL, IN REALITY THEY ALL BEGAN WITH THE ARAB SPRING IN 2011, ONCE THE POLITICALLY CORRECT REDEFINED DEFINITION IS DROPPED ISIS // IL IS A CREATION OF REDUNDANT DISABLED COGNITIVE THOUGHT, INSTEAD TRY TO FIGURE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL MOTIVATION FOR PULLING THE TRIGGER AND GENOCIDE, WHY NOT JUST FIGURE OUT HOW TO SELF DECAPITATE?
pongidae rex says
This warrior is not stupid and he knows exactly what he is up against. But if he elucidates a coherent military strategy based upon this knowledge, he is out of a job. Maybe he is hoping his convention of ‘terrorism experts’ will give him some sort of political cover.
It is no accident that Obama was photographed grovelling at the feet of the king of Saudi Arabia, while a recent photograph shows him towering full stature over the Pope. This man has a hidden agenda when it regards Islam.
Charles says
Obama’s agenda vis-a-vis Islam is hardly hidden!
Angry says
While ever the American administration is in bed with saudi arabia and heavily dependant on middle eastern trade, and co-operation, then they’ll say nothing against the jihadi faith, and continue to try and fool the citizens into a false sense of belief.
The same applies to the cowards in Westminster, who constantly tell us that islam is peaceful, despite the violent attacks between islamic sects over the last 1400+ years; and religious attacks on non-muslims in Western cultural societies.
Myxlplik says
I don’t care how powerful you are, it’s not possible to survive such stupidity, which is why Obama officially blocked the analysis of Islam as a religion in regards to understanding the tactics of our enemy.
Obama isn’t on our side, this is the quantitative result.
Angry says
Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t Obama’s grandfather Onyango (later Hussein) Obama, a roman catholic convert to islam? If so, then maybe that’s the reason why Obama is an apologist for islam.
Draki says
I would say this is probably propaganda from the General to trick ISIS, who will be reading US military press releases. When at war it is always profitable to confuse your enemy. I think Nagata understands the movement and knows how to defeat it. It’s just that America’s politicians and military leaders don’t want it advertised. I don’t know if America is actively trying to defeat ISIS, but it’s not only a military problem, but also political, social, and religious.
TH says
While Obama is President, no way is there going to be any real effort at defeating it. Since the U.S. has become a one party state, diven the fact that the dumb republicans are totally clueless as to what to to, it is likely that Obama’s successor who wil be a decomcrat, and maybe Hillary, nothing will be done.
joeb says
“Business professors, for example, are examining the Islamic State’s marketing and branding strategies.”
WTF?!
pumbar says
Refuse collectors will be going through islamic state’s bins for information.
Jack Diamond says
No one can be as dumb as this general’s remarks indicate him to be “we do not even understand the idea” (though it’s possible he was promoted for just those reasons) but the idea he would sputter such hands-in-the-air-can’t-figure-it-out nonsense about something perfectly clear down to the least detail to fool ISIS is really reaching. I promise you, they have no idea how to defeat it,if you mean in any way other than bombing or killing every one of them, which they clearly are not going to do. Well, other than calling them “not Islamic” as if that will keep Muslims from running off to join them. At best, they hope the Shi’a will take care of it or the Sunni and Shi’a will take care of each other, or they are constrained by their ISIS supporting friends in Turkey and Qatar. Targeting it’s psychology? By that they mean anything other than the source, Qur’an and Sunnah. The only psychology they need to be targeting is the sense of victory and triumph they are getting from not being defeated and crushed by Allah’s enemies.
Salah says
““We do not understand the movement…”
Well, here’s a brilliant idea: why not start by analyzing the movement’s name?
katarzyna says
US special ops commander: “we do not understand…”
but Obama is Happy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSWMIol8ttE (Барак Обама – «Happy» – Barack Obama)
Ice Star says
Self education might be a place to start. Still the fact that Obama purged Islam from the training manuals is by far the worst thing he has done since 2008.
xard says
You do not need to understand it to do your job, if it’s not wearing an American Army uniform you put a bullet in it’s head. Job done.
redleg says
We do not understand the movement, and until we do, we are not going to defeat it,” You gotta be sh_tting me. You mean 13 years after 9-11, you people in Defense can’t answer that question? Let me help you out General:
The prophet of Islam boasted, “I have been made victorious with terror” Sahih Bukhari 4.52.220″
That’s all you need to know. Now if you really want to wise up, why not read the Sunnah of Muhammed?
Better still, hire us and Mr Spencer. We can educate your staff in one short lecture. Oh wait, you’re working for Obama. Never mind.
PRCS says
“Because the Obama Administration has forbidden investigation of Islamic doctrine in connection with terrorists.”
That is simply not true.
While the Obama administration foolishly prohibits official investigations into—and reporting on—so-called ‘terrorism’ issues, the military’s civilian leadership and members of the military themselves have access to the same research tools as any other American and cannot—in way shape or form—be similarly prohibited from doing their own personal research.
Such personnel may not be able to cite those passages from Qur’an and Sunnah which drive the worldwide jihad against ‘unbelievers’ in their official reports, the U.S. Constitution guarantees them the right to conduct as much personal research as they want to; including the general.
Doctor Bostom was briefly interviewed on Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro program this past Saturday. I wonder how many of the military’s civilian leadership and military personnel themselves watched that program? So, what are they now supposed to do? Did they have their memories of that program electronically erased upon reporting for work/duty this morning?
Ihttp://www.andrewbostom.org/blog/2014/12/28/my-brief-discussion-of-jihad-sharia-the-plight-of-middle-east-christians-with-judge-jeanine-pirro/
Walter Sieruk says
The understand the hideous violet and deadly jihad entity ISIS it is necessary understand the foundation of this heinous terror group is Islam along with its Koran. This is the book that the ISIS jihad thugs base the violence and killings on. to give just two of many examples from Islam’s “holy book” are Sura 9:11. ad Sura 47;4. The whole point is that this jihad terror entity ,ISIS with its violent and murderous members is Islam .That religion is what inspired the forming of vicious and violently deadly group that is ISIS. The Koran is what motivated the Muslim villains to compose ISIS and thus to do much evil.
rubiconrest says
None of our presidents from Reagan to Obama have had a clue and their actions have backfired. Bush 2000 was in the best position to teach and lead the nation but he failed miserably. We should have taken control of middle eastern oil fields to pay for the rebuilding of the towers and as restitution and then we should have made them kill the jihadists, including OBL, with mercenaries if need be. All Bush had to do was show what was being taught in mosques in the USA and well has highlighting the connection between the terrorists and traditional islamic doctrine.
POfd American says
But the Bushes and the House of Saud sleep together. We elected a Saudi ass licking buffoon then, like we did with Obama now.
Speaking of other clueless Republicans – McCain and Grahm forming ISIS, Bob Dole with Arab oil investments, Mitt Romney who says Russia is our number one world enemy, on and on.
If either Hillary Clinton or Jeb Bush were to be elected as our next president we can kiss our way of life goodbye.
Leith Wood says
Oh please. A conundrum? Why doesn’t he consult students of Islam like Robert Spencer, but of course that would not be politically correct and probably would cost him his job! How about saving American freedom first? Learning and speaking the truth works!
Angemon says
May I suggest looking for marketing graduates among the lists of known westerners who defected to join the islamic state? Not that it matters, the issue is with what’s being marketed, not how it’s being marketed.
Sam Hawkins says
In Starship Troopers before the disastrous assault on Klendathu, beribboned Sky Marshall Diens gives a grandiloquent, vapid speech about the war to the United Nations.
After the fiasco on the bug planet, we see that he’s been replaced. Sky Marshall Tehat Meru is a heavyset Nigerian, warrior to the core. She minces no words. “To fight the bug, we must UNDERSTAND THE BUG.”
Soon after, Johnny Rico and friends capture a BRAIN BUG for the first time. It’s the turning point for the war.
Is Maj. Gen. Nagata our Tehat Meru? Will he discover the enemy’s guiding intelligence? Will he discover that it’s a word with five letters… that starts with a “q” and ends with “n”?
Stay tuned.. but don’t hold your breath.
mortimer says
Message to Major General Nagata:
My dear Major General Nagata,
It’s easy to understand ISIS. Just read the Sira and the hadiths of Bukhari. They are SLAVISHLY copying everything in those two volumes.
Once you and all your officers and men read those volumes, they will PERFECTLY understand the enemy.
Cordial best wishes for health and success,
Mortimer
gail griffin says
Does this Nagata have an address? I think that several hundred letters saying the same thing. ” Talk to Robert Spencer” would give him an idea of where to go to get his answers.
dumbledoresarmy says
Just in case General Nagata or one of his staffers should stumble in here via the magic of google.
Here’s a lucid, easy to read, fully-footnoted scholarly article, written in the 1990s, that will tell him all he needs to know (it includes information on taqiyya and hudna).
It’s Patrick L Moore’s lapidary essay, “From Cold War to ‘Guerra Fria'”.
As presented by Hugh Fitzgerald at New English Review
http://www.newenglishreview.org/blog_direct_link.cfm/blog_id/26087
Monday, 22 February 2010
From The Annals Of Serendip: Patrick L. Moore
And a handy printer-friendly version, here:
http://www.ewtn.com/library/ISSUES/GUERRA.HTM
FROM “COLD WAR” TO GUERRA FRIA?
Patrick L. Moore
A sample paragraph, to give an idea of the ruthless clarity of the writing:
“There are five especially critical aspects about Islam’s doctrine of jihad which must be brought out to properly understand the significance of Islam as it relates to the United States and the West. In summary, the meaning of jihad in its primary sense is military and coercive; it is central to the universalist doctrine of the Islamic belief system; its operational aim is political domination of non-Islamic territories (i.e. rather than forced conversion); it is offensive or aggressive in nature in the first instance (and not merely “defensive”); and, finally, jihad is continuous in character (i.e. pending the ultimate victory of the forces of Islam).”
Memo to anyone reading here who hasn’t yet read this particular article: please do.
It’s beautiful. it says everything. It should be on the desk of every politician and general and diplomat and religious leader in the non-Muslim world. It’s the perfect “background briefing”.
Daniel Moshe Johnson says
Good day, the US like any other entity has a huge country to run, especially with an economic situation that can not abandon it’s security obligation to it’d citizens.
Syria has always been a problem, Israel has warned the world of the Assad regime for quite some time. If anything the US wishes to know, just ask the Israelis.
Matter of fact, for the record, without the help of Israel, the US would be penetrated already within, the elite intelligence division is in a league by itself.
This republic is a farce that has created a media campaign which should called for a joint UN alliance from all the members, to band and destroy the nucleus and replace the Assad regime.
The entire region stagnation dictates economic waves that ruin peace and lucrative potential. Imagine the real estate in those regions and archeological possibilities that are being reduced to rubble.
If the UN can’t do it, it’s time to broker a deal with nations who can get it done, and what better example than Israel, who proves every second, it will be the new world leader in every aspect.
Good day
POdAmerican says
Yeah Daniel, Israel loathes Assad but look what will replace him – fanatical jihadists who have world wide support from other good muslims with manpower, money and the backing of Saudi, Qatari, and Turkish Sunni’s who also want Israel destroyed. You are dead wrong on every statement you made even where our government is obligated for our security, what a F—ing laugh!
FACT, the Arab Spring in Syria was only an attempt by Sunni Muslims to bring sunni sharia law to Syria. Then our senile John McCain thought it would be a splendid idea to use that movement to get rid of Bashar Assad. Well Daniel now we have ISIS ” McCains Marauders” who slaughters every man, woman and child that isn’t a wretched sunni and all the oil that can be pumped goes to our POS ally Turkey. Next up Israel, Lebanon and Jordan will soon be infused with these little rat brained terrorists. You also have to be kidding on economic development and saving ancient historical sites, right?
Charles Martel says
If you watched the incredible whitewashing of Islam on PBS’s “Sacred Journeys/Hajj” you’d have your answer. The anti-Sharia and anti-jihad movement understands that Islamic doctrine is the cause. The Leftists, on the other hand because it hates the West and the U.S. in particular, demonstrate an incredibly dangerous willful blindness. They are encouraging the notion that Islam is a religion of peace rather than a totalitarian supremacist political ideology. I don’t care if a Muslim doesn’t follow the Sharia entirely and doesn’t become a terrorist, he’s still reading from the same playbooks, the Qu’ran, Sira and Hadith, Islam is a scourge on modern society and must be eradicated.
xxxChurch100 says
If you haven’t seen this check out :Utube ” Clare Lopez with Q Society in Sydney 2014 ” it is a little long but Ms Lopez is a straight shooter on this very issue , hope you ” enjoy ” it .
Cheers
Vostro says
Wishing Maj Gen. Nagata a wonderful retirement.
nothosaur says
But, with his feigned ignorance of Islamic motivations, he is the very model of a modern major general!
POd America says
I tried to watch the muslim propaganda “haj” on PBS also, what a slap in the face to Christians two days before Christmas! I contacted our station in Denver and told them how uncouthed and incredibly stupid it was to run a program on a religion that is responsible for murdering millions of Christians in the past and present. I will never give money to that slimy tv station ever.
Luciano says
Generals are more politicized than politicians. They depend on the president and congress for their next star. In another words with a few exceptions….generals are whores. If this general truly wants to understand the motivation….all he has to do is read Islamic history. There he’ll find his answer. But he won’t since he wants to find an answer that conforms with Obama’s white washing….Islam, religion of peace!.
rab says
Another educated fool, in a fools’ parade. If no tactics or inteligence are to be used, it’s simple. It just becomes one big game of “Whack-a-mole”! One pops up here, kill ’em! One pops up there, kill ’em! yes just one big, long, expensive, bloody game of “Whack-a-mole”! No thinking needed…….
gregg says
the general is correct and American’s will suffer because of an inept liberal belief system
TruthWFree says
Just reading all the comments by people who know what the movement is all about without the help of the CIA or any DC bureaucrat or government agency. The problem with proper identification is in the White House and the statement by this General Nagata indicate that Obama prohibits the truth about the movement. Only a person of extremely low IQ would have problems coming to the conclusion of those on this blog (i.e. The TRUTH).