http://worldmeets.us/images/ISIL-beatles_thetelegraph.jpg

The Independent, U.K.

[Click Here for more Independent Cartoons]

 

 

Holy War of the 'Center' of the World (Folha, Brazil)

 

"Until very recently, the war carried out by the Islamic State was the real War of the End of the World - the title of a book by Mario Vargas Llosa. ... The problem is that its supporters have moved from the end of the world to, for example, Oxford Street in London, the busiest shopping street in the world, where they hand out leaflets inviting people to join the caliphate. All in all, it is clear that bombing mountains in Iraq will not be enough to win this war."

 

By Clóvis Rossi*

                          http://worldmeets.us/images/clovis-rossi-big_mug.jpg

 

Translated By Ricardo Farinha

 

September 1, 2014

 

Brazil - O Globo - Original Articles (Portuguese)

Until very recently, the war carried out by IS (the Islamic State) in Iraq and Syria was the real War of the End of the World - the title of a book by Mario Vargas Llosa, about the War of Canudos in Brazil. He called it the "end of the world" because the West paid no attention to it.

 

The German magazine Der Spiegel noted that, "it was only this threat of genocide [against the Yazidis] that moved the global community to act. Countries around the world quickly united in the battle against IS, by far the world's most brutal, most successful - and most sinister - jihadist troop."

 

Now, the beheading of American journalist James Foley has brought the war to the "center" of the world. According to Charles Lister (Brookings Institution), who researches the radical militia intensively, it's too late: "Unfortunately, the IS has been allowed to grow and develop to such an extent that any strategy to counter it will take years and very significant resources," Lister told Der Spiegel.

 

In fact, today, IS is an army (with an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 members in Syria and more than 15,000 in Iraq), but it is also a state. The German magazine reports: "IS even offers social security benefits to residents of areas under its control - just like a real country, says Brookings' Lister. Whatever regions the IS captures, it simply continues paying local workers, [people like the employees at the Mosul dam or even those working in restaurants]."

Posted By Worldmeets.US

 

Money hasn't been a problem for the fanatics: when they conquered the city of Mosul, they took $500 million from local coffers, not to mention the fact that they collect taxes and sell oil and gas in areas they control. This technocratic behavior clashes head on with the ideological roots of IS. The militia adheres to the tenets of ancient radical Islamist preachers, for example, those of Sheikh Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyya (1263-1328).

 

 

Iraqi journalist Shukur Khilkhal explains that Taymiyya commanded Muslims to advocate holy war (jihad) against infidels (and all states of the world are considered infidel), apostates, and even undecided Muslims.  

 

This is why IS declared the Caliphate (a government based on Islamic law) in territory it has captured in Syria and Iraq. It would therefore be the only infidel-free Islamic state on the planet.

 

It is a state so primitive that, in addition to well-known rules about stoning women for adultery and amputating the hands of thieves, it also prohibits the sale of ice cream and cucumbers at markets so as not to arouse impure thoughts.

 

In short, as President Barack Obama said on August 20, "a group like IS has no place in the 21st century."

 

The problem is that its supporters have moved from the end of the world to, for example, Oxford Street in London, the busiest shopping street in the world, where they hand out leaflets inviting people to join the caliphate. It is estimated that between 2,000 and 3,000 young Europeans have already accepted the invitation.

 

All in all, it is clear that bombing mountains in Iraq will not be enough to win this war.

 

http://worldmeets.us/images/clovis.rossi_minimug.jpg

Clovis Rossi is a special correspondent and member of the Folha editorial board, is a winner of the Maria Moors Cabot award (USA) and is a member of the Foundation for a New Ibero-American Journalism. His column appears on Thursdays and Sundays on page 2 and on Saturdays in the World Notebook section. He is the author, among other works, of Special Envoy: 25 Years Around the World and What is Journalism?

.

E-mail: crossi@uol.com.br

SEE EVEN MORE ON THIS:
La Stampa, Italy: The Caliphate and Kobe Bryant: Between Mafia and Sharia
La Stampa, Italy: Reagan Sets 'Acid Test' for Crisis-Beset Obama
L'Orient Le Jour, Lebanon: 'Short-Lived' Islamic State Serves America's Purpose
Le Nouvel Observateur, France: Beheading Shows 'Weakness'; Video Shouldn't Be Viewed
The Independent, U.K.: Fisk on ISIL: Talk of Apocalyptic' Threat is Simply Childish
The Independent, U.K.: West Poised to Join Forces with President Assad
L'Orient Le Jour, Lebanon: The Kurds, ISIL, and Iraq's Icosahedron Triangle
L'Orient Le Jour, Lebanon: Obama Coddles Assad to Please Iran, Endangering Millions
Carta Maior, Brazil: ISIL: The Latest Disastrous Tool of Western Statecraft
Le Quotidien d'Oran, Algeria: ISIL Hoists Saudi Royals By Their Own Petards
Le Figaro, France: ISIL Fighters as 'Mad as the Nazis or the Reds'
Amal al-Oumma, Egypt: The U.S.-Zionist 'Hoax' Over East Jerusalem
Le Quotidien d'Oran, Algeria: AIPAC: The Lobby One Dare Not Name
Alhayat Aljadeeda, Palestinian Territories: America is Now 'Israel's Hostage'
Alhayat Aljadeeda: Israel Uses 'Diplomatic Terror' Against the U.S.
Dar al-Hayat, Saudi Arabia: Israel 'Drains the Viagra' from America's Credibility
De Morgen, Belgium: Aided by America and Europe, ISIS Poses Mortal Threat to Iran
L'Orient Le Jour, Lebanon: Mysteries of ISIL and the 'American Hand'
Izvestia, Russia: For Russia, Iraq Crisis is a 'Lucky Break'
L'Expressions, Algeria: Modern Terrorism: An American 'Success' Story
L'Orient Le Jour, Lebanon: An Existential Threat to Iraq - but not Only to Iraq
Sotal Iraq: ISIS: 'American-Zionist Tool' for Dismembering Iraq
News, Switzerland: As Iraq Reerupts, 'Media Mad Cow Disease' Takes Hold in U.S.
Thawra Al-Wada, Syria: 'New Middle East' Borders to Be Drawn in Arab Blood
The Frontier Post, Pakistan: America's Secret War Against Iran in Balochistan
Al Ayyam, Palestinian Territories: Feuding Arabs Help America 'Remap' the Middle East
Al Ghad, Jordan: U.S.-Zionist Plan for 'Blood Borders' Proceeds Apace
Sotal Iraq, Iraq: REPORT: ISIS Revives Saddam's Baath Party to Win Sunni Support
Komsomolskaya Pravda, Russia: Jihadi MANPADS: History Teaches 'Precisely Nothing'
Azzaman, Iraq: Barack Obama: 'Milking' the Iraq War for All it's Worth
Kitabat, Iraq: For Iraqi People, U.S. Withdrawal is 'Two Victories in One'
Sotal Iraq, Iraq: 'Stubborn' Iraqis Mistaken to Demand American Withdrawal
Al Watan, Oman: How Iraq's Resistance Saved Women from Americans
Al-Arab Al-Yawm, Jordan: Senior Shiite Leaders Warn of Iraq-Syria War
Al-Arab Al-Yawm, Jordan: 'Smell of Gunpowder' Has Arabs on Edge
Kitabat, Iraq: Iraq Caught in Middle as U.S. Asserts Iranian Murder Plot
Debka File, Israel: Loss of U.S. Drone Strengthens Case for Israeli Attack
Iraq News Agency, Iraq: Al-Sadr and Al-Maliki: More Shiite or Iraqi?
Kayhan, Iran: Sadrists to Take Up Arms If U.S. Remains in Iraq
Financial Times, U.K.: Maliki Gives Iran and U.S Joint Cause
Kitabat, Iraq: Letting Iraq Collapse Will Spell Disaster for U.S.
Kitabat, Iraq: 'Render Unto Caesar What is Caesar's'
Azzaman, Iraq: Iraqi Democracy Has Been 'Assassinated'
Kitabat, Iraq: Iraqis Need Patriotism, Not Americans Troops!
La Stampa, Italy: The War in Iraq: America's 'Seven Inglorious Years'
Kitabat, Iraq: Iraqis Must 'Take to Streets' to Demand a Presidential System
El Pais, Spain: U.S. Ends War it Couldn't Win; Leaves Behind Ruined Nation
Kitabat, Iraq: Iraq is Our Country!!!
The Telegraph, U.K.: Top Army Officer Warns Iraq Not Ready Until 2020
The Independent, U.K.: U.S. Troops Say Goodbye to Iraq
Guardian Unlimited, U.K.: Iraq is 'Half Built with the Roof Off'
Guardian Unlimited, U.K.: Fears Rise as U.S.-Backed Fighters Defect to al-Qaeda
Debka File, Iraq: U.S. Ends Iraq War, Leaves Two Civil Wars 'On the Boil'
Debka File, Israel: Combat Between U.S. and Iran Looms in Iraq
Kitabat, Iraq: America's 'Promise': To Leave Iraq in a State of Civil War
Kitabat, Iraq: Wake Up Iraqis!: The Americans Never Intend to Withdraw!
Kitabat, Iraq: America's War: From One Dictatorship to Another
Iraq News Agency, Iraq: Details on Scientist's Death Expose 'Zionist Jail' in Iraq
Iraq News Agency: Chalabi Tells General Odierno: 'Mind Your Business'
Iraq News Agency: U.S. 'Pullout' Resembles Israeli Retreats from Gaza
Al Iraq News, Iraq: Iraq's American Embassy is 'Suspicious' and 'Dangerous'!
Le Quotidien d'Oran, Algeria: Blackwater 'No Better Than al-Qaeda'  
La Stampa, Italy: War in Iraq: America's 'Seven Inglorious Years'
Al-Madina, Saudi Arabis: Mercenaries Part of U.S. 'Plot' to Destroy Iraqis
Kayhan, Iran: A 'Small Number' of Iranian Flock 'Led Astray'
Kayhan, Iran: America and Britain are Behind Iran's So-Called Unrest
Kayhan, Iran: Obama is a 'Global Menace;' and 'Threat to Islam'
Kayhan, Iran: Nuclear Power and Israel's Inexplicable Abuse of Iran
Kayhan, Iran:
Brazil Welcomes Ahmadinejad; Keeps Distance from 'English World'
Estadao, Brazil: Brazil's Foolhardy Treatment of America and Embrace of Iran
Kayhan, Iran: America and Britain are Behind Iran's So-Called Unrest
Die Welt, Germany: Ahmadinejad Announces Iranian Plans to 'Administer the World'
Estadao, Brazil:
Brazil's Foolhardy Treatment of America and Embrace of Iran
Le Quotidien d'Oran, Algeria: Arab World 'Impotent' but to Witness Iran's Ascent
Dar Al-Hayat, Egypt: The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria - and its Evil Sisters
Al-Iraq News, Iraq: America's Disgraced Hawks Turn to Middle East Plan B
Kitabat, Iraq: The ISIS - An 'American-Zionist-Iranian Device'
Al-Iraq News, Iraq: Great Satan and the Zionist Entity: 'Arabs Swallow the Iranian Bait'
Thawra Al-Wada, Syria: America's 'Arab-Zionist' Pawns
Debka File, Israel: Assad Pulls Ahead in Syria; Putin, Khamenei are 'Joint-Victors'
Debka File, Israel: Obama, Netanyahu Help Khamenei Pick Iran's Next President
Sotal Iraq, Iraq: Iran, Iraq and Our ‘Common Enemy’
Iraqi News Agency, Iraq: Is U.S. Conspiring with Iran, or are they Simply Fools?
Iraqi News Agency, Iraq: Al-Sadr and al-Maliki: More Shiite or Iraqi?
Financial Times, U.K.: Maliki Gives Iran and U.S Joint Cause
Kitabat, Iraq: Letting Iraq Collapse Will Spell Disaster for U.S.
Kitabat, Iraq: 'Render Unto Caesar What is Caesar's'
Azzaman, Iraq: Iraqi Democracy Has Been 'Assassinated'
Kitabat, Iraq: Iraqis Need Patriotism, Not Americans Troops!
La Stampa, Italy: The War in Iraq: America's 'Seven Inglorious Years'
Kitabat, Iraq: Iraqis Must 'Take to Streets' to Demand a Presidential System
El Pais, Spain: U.S. Ends War it Couldn't Win; Leaves Behind Ruined Nation
Kitabat, Iraq: Iraq is Our Country!!!
The Telegraph, U.K.: Top Army Officer Warns Iraq Not Ready Until 2020
The Independent, U.K.: U.S. Troops Say Goodbye to Iraq
Guardian Unlimited, U.K.: Iraq is 'Half Built with the Roof Off'
Guardian Unlimited, U.K.: Fears Rise as U.S.-Backed Fighters Defect to al-Qaeda
Debka File, Iraq: U.S. Ends Iraq War, Leaves Two Civil Wars 'On the Boil'
Debka File, Israel: Combat Between U.S. and Iran Looms in Iraq
Kitabat, Iraq: America's 'Promise': To Leave Iraq in a State of Civil War
Kitabat, Iraq: Wake Up Iraqis!: The Americans Never Intend to Withdraw!
Kitabat, Iraq: America's War: From One Dictatorship to Another  

 

CLICK HERE FOR PORTUGUESE VERSION

blog comments powered by Disqus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted By Worldmeets.US September 1, 2014, 8:13pm