There is NO "Islam State"

[Atman]

I just posted this as a reply to a FB post, but thankfully sat back for a moment and took a breath. Not really a big deal, just not necessarily anything I want to have to discuss with friends at the next back yard barbecue. Anyway...

There is NO "Islam State." Don't give in to this bulls**t. If I grabbed a gun tomorrow and called myself "The State of Rob," it wouldn't make me a state. The day you give these assholes any credence is the day you lose. They are not a "state." They are a bunch of religious extremists. A few billion other Muslims still live peaceful lives without cutting off heads.

And that includes even if they are really real and not just another CIA/Halliburton/MIC false flag operation to keep the perpetual war going.

http://egyptianstreets.com/2014/09/22/islam-state-calls-for-beheadings-bombings-in-egypt/

[CJCRANE]

1. IMO they changed their name to IS

because with all the sudden exposure people were starting to question what this "ISIS" thing was, especially as it was synonymous with an Egyptian pagan goddess.

"ISIS" might sound cool for all the kids joining up for shits and giggles, but to anyone who knows anything about religion and history it sounds like a strange choice.

[Atman]

2. Hard to disagree.

I've felt this way for quite a while. Like the "Tea Baggers" thought the name sounded cool until they figured out what it meant.

[NuclearDem]

3. I imagine any name change is due to a change in goals.

ISIS/ISIL is essentially interchangeable in English. In Arabic it's Dawlat Islamiya f'il Iraq wa al-Sham, and changing it to simply Dawlat Islamiya might mean they want more than just Iraq and Syria.

[CJCRANE]

17. Did they prefer "ISIS" or "Daesh"?

I thought they didn't like "Daesh".

ISIS = Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham.

It's an English/Arabic mash-up that would appeal to foreign fighters who don't speak fluent Arabic.

But I agree with you to an extent. It did seem dramatic when Baghdadi gave his big sermon in Mosul. It was like the start of a new era.

[snooper2]

4. Tell that to the kids in Mosul that just want to go to school

[leftstreet]

5. What's that got to do with them being a 'state?'

[snooper2]

6. I guess it is all about a "state" of mind

[former9thward]

7. Does the State of Rob control the second biggest city in Iraq?

It is hard to argue they are not a state. They control large portions of what used to be Iraq and Syria. They are also selling oil to other nations so they have a viable 'economy' at the present time. I do not agree we should be fighting them -- air or ground.

[leftstreet]

10. Yet the Obama Admin thought air strikes would be enough

Er...whatever happened with those

[former9thward]

13. Air strikes will never win wars.

The British and Germans will tell you that. They hammered each other in WW II and military operations were degraded but it took a land army to win. There is no land army in Iraq. The Iraqi army has fled whenever confronted with an opponent. They fled the U.S. in 1991 and 2003 and they fled IS this year. McCain was on my local radio this morning talking about how it will take "one year at least to rebuild the Iraqi Army." No, John, it will never be re-built. We were there for 8 years and spent billions trying to train them. If that didn't work, nothing will. Same as Afghanistan but that is not this topic.

[H2O Man]

12. Right.

It is by definition. "Iraq," on the other hand, wasn't.

[ZombieHorde]

8. What makes any state real or legitamate?

States are just rhetorical/social constructs. They aren't real things. They're just some people saying 'we're a state,' and sometimes lots of other people will go along with it.

[kwassa]

9. They are controlling and administrating a large physical area.

Collecting taxes, too. Selling the natural resources. Administering punishment in their , um, legal system.

Sounds like a state.

[MohRokTah]

11. Controls wide swaths of territory? Check.

Has members who have run governments in the past? Check.

Is implementing a legal framework in the territories it controls? Check.

Has formed a police force to enforce the legal framework in the territories it controls? Check.

Walks like a duck? Check.

Quacks like a duck? Check.

You formulate your own opinion. Sounds like a state to me.

[NuclearDem]

14. Whether we like to call it one or not, it's a state.

A state run by raping, murdering, fundamentalist, psychopathic slavers, but a state nonetheless.

[H2O Man]

15. Sure there is.

There are also risks to attempting shortcuts to logical thinking.

[hardcover]

16. Right, there is no "Islam State" it's The Islamic State

Just thought I'd throw that in there.

[Lee-Lee]

18. Denial doesn't fix a problem or make it go away

They control areas of land, they are the only form of functioning government or control in that area they control, they make and administer laws in that region.

It is a state. A despotic, homophobic, oppressive to women, state run by religious fundamentalist scumbags state, but a state none the less.