OccupyHarrenhal Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 Can someone explain why you are using ISIL instead of ISIS? Why the Levant instead of Syria? Don't they call themselves ISIS? Is it a translation thing? Just curious. Because their name, translated, is the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, "wa Al Sham" is "and the Levant." If it was And Syria it would be "wa Suriyah.I'm pretty sure Levant was replaced with Syria so as not to confuse geographically-ignorant news viewers, that, or (less likely) they're using Syria in the archaic sense to refer to the entire Levant as "Greater Syria." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccupyHarrenhal Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 let Iran and Hezballah intervene and keep Maliki in power, hes there guy now anyways. Hezbollah is a bit busy. The Syrian Civil War has been extremely costly, both numerically and to their popularity in Lebanon. Even if their Iranian paymasters wanted them to intervene, they wouldn't be likely to be able to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThinkerX Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 I'm pretty sure Levant was replaced with Syria so as not to confuse geographically-ignorant news viewers, that, or (less likely) they're using Syria in the archaic sense to refer to the entire Levant as "Greater Syria." fundamentalist Islamic empire? Or at least a new Islamic state put together from Iraq and Syria? especially considering the mess in Syria and Iraq. Yikes, that would be a bloodbath! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThinkerX Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 Looks like the Kurds are getting ambitious: http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/June/Kurds-Seize-Disputed-Oil-Hub-Amid-Iraq-Chaos/ Kirkuk seized. Iraqi army ordered out. Time to start carving off slabs of Iran and Turkey and making a greater Kurdistan? KIRKUK, Iraq (AP) -- After a decades-long dispute between Arabs and Kurds over the oil-rich northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, it took just an hour and a half for its fate to be decided. As al-Qaida-inspired militants advanced across northern Iraq and security forces melted away, Kurdish fighters who have long dominated Kirkuk ordered Iraqi troops out and seized full control of the regional oil hub and surrounding areas, according to a mid-ranking Army officer. He said he was told to surrender his weapons and leave his base. His account was corroborated by an Arab tribal sheik and a photographer who witnessed the looting of army bases after troops left and who related similar accounts of the takeover from relatives in the army. All three spoke to The Associated Press Friday on condition of anonymity because they feared retribution from Kurdish forces. "They said they would defend Kirkuk from the Islamic State," said the Arab officer, who oversaw a warehouse in the city's central military base. He asked that his rank not be made public.don't know about this 'cbn news' though...are they reliable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccupyHarrenhal Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 fundamentalist Islamic empire? Or at least a new Islamic state put together from Iraq and Syria? especially considering the mess in Syria and Iraq. Yikes, that would be a bloodbath! It's propaganda in any case. Every Sunni state is either too close to the U.S. and therefore the ISIL opposes them (The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan), a failed state itself (Syria and Yemen) or has been isolationist for the entirety of modern history and isn't about to change course now (Oman). The ISIL has no friends in the Middle East, they couldn't possibly project outside of Iraq. Strike, maybe, but not take over cities like they've been doing. Looks like the Kurds are getting ambitious:http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/June/Kurds-Seize-Disputed-Oil-Hub-Amid-Iraq-Chaos/Kirkuk seized. Iraqi army ordered out. Time to start carving off slabs of Iran and Turkey and making a greater Kurdistan?don't know about this 'cbn news' though...are they reliable? I wouldn't call CBN reliable (it's Pat Robertson's TV network), but yeah, the seizure of Kirkuk did happen. Iraqi Kurdistan has been remarkably successful in protecting itself from the chaos occuring in the rest of Iraq. But "greater Kurdistan" is still a long way off, Turkey and Iran both have powerful armies that would destroy them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruin Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 Perfect opportunity for Iran to move against MEK forces in eastern Iraq. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 There certainly seems like a possibility of some nasty genocide occurring, but since it's based on religion, not race, what do you call it? Merely sectarian violence? Genocide's technical meaning involves seeking to destroy a group in whole or in part, if that group is national, ethnic, racial, or religious: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide_Convention#Definition_of_genocide So genocide would be the correct term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThinkerX Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 But "greater Kurdistan" is still a long way off, Turkey and Iran both have powerful armies that would destroy them. assuming they didn't fall prey to the chaos consuming the rest of the region first. As I recollect, a Kurdish breakaway is Turkey's biggest nightmare. And Iran isn't exactly stable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TalalOfDorne Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 Maybe as long as the conflict is primarily in Iraq (And Syria I guess), the US won't send troops, but if the conflict starts pouring on to other places, who knows? Yet weirdly these people were living in the same neighbourhoods and intermarrying for hundreds of years until about a decade ago. And in some places, they still are (Oman). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Scot A Ellison Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 Thinker,I've been seeing reports that the Kurdish Iraqi north has a pretty good relationship with Turkey now. I was surprised because I was thinkig the same thing you were initally. I suppose that as long as the Peshmurga stay out of Turkey they're willing to back the Kurds in Iraq. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shryke Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 assuming they didn't fall prey to the chaos consuming the rest of the region first.As I recollect, a Kurdish breakaway is Turkey's biggest nightmare. And Iran isn't exactly stable. Neither is the area people think of as future-Kurdistan. The Kurds are organized in small groups, but not across the entire ethnic population. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fragile Bird Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 Just saw a video of Canadian guys in ISIS/ISIL telling us when they're done there, they're coming after us in Canada. ETA: Oh, and the US too. There was a group of disenfranchised young men from Calgary who are all over there. One of the young men is the son nephew of the former president Prime Minister of Somalia, who now lives in Canada. edit/news story corrected Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Scot A Ellison Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 FB,They'll be able to engage in acts of terror, maybe. But I'll be shocked if they could do more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fragile Bird Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 Oh, I agree, Ser Scot. But I am really just recalling my previous statements that if ISIS/ISIL carves out a territory for itself, it will be the training and launching ground for foreign terrorism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramsay Gimp Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 double post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fragile Bird Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 That's why I used the word 'if'. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramsay Gimp Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Oh, I agree, Ser Scot. But I am really just recalling my previous statements that if ISIS/ISIL carves out a territory for itself, it will be the training and launching ground for foreign terrorism. They seem to have their hands full with enemies much closer to home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fragile Bird Posted June 20, 2014 Author Share Posted June 20, 2014 300 US advisors are being sent to Iraq. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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