Is Allah Winning?

 

Is Allah winning? He certainly seems to be doing so. The Islamic State has captured, among other areas, strategic towns in both Iraq and Syria: in Iraq, Ramadi, in Syria, Palmyra. This means that the Islamic State controls a large area of Iraq and Syria.

The Daily Mail on Friday, May 22, carries an article showing how the Islamic State has doubled the area it holds in Syria. The Atlantic shows this map of Syria and Iraq. Observe how close Ramadi is to Baghdad and Palmyra to Damascus. People in Baghdad and Damascus must be considerably concerned with how the war is going. The Worldwide Caliphate is apparently well on the way to achieving its declared objective.

The leader of the religious believers, Caliph Abu Bakr ai-Baghdadi, seems on his way to fulfilling his declared ambitions. He aims at establishing the House of Peace throughout the world. A descendant of Muhammad, he is using the handbook Muhammad left behind to do that, and is following his example. His followers have also learned well, following the instructions to the letter. The Islamist Jihadists seem to be proving that their god, Allah, is as Supreme as they claim.

Many people believe al-Baghdadi is the Mahdi, the prophesied redeemer of Islam, who will appear at the same time as the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Together, they will fight against the false Messiah, or the Antichrist. This belief is another example of the genius of Muhammad in tying the belief systems of Islam into those of Judaism and Christianity, to claim and supersede them. So far, no one seems to be claiming to be the returned Jesus Christ of the Second Coming. But the Mahdi is well underway with military successes that seem to back up his claims. Every victory means more Jihadists will be joining him to fight for Allah and his last and greatest Prophet, Muhammad. A religious war seems to appeal to many.

According to AlMonitor, the Senate Armed Services Panel has just held a hearing on the subject of the strategy to be followed against the Islamic State. It was stated that it would appear that now is the time to engage in combat. If the United States doesn’t lead, no one else steps up either. Panel Chairman, John McCain (R-Ariz.) called for a complete overhaul of US strategy.

According to an article in the Military Times, in the opinion of retired Army Col. Peter Mansoor, who was executive officer to retired Army General David Petraeus, in 2011 when the U.S. withdrew its troops from Iraq, they had just about defeated al Qaeda. The withdrawal led to the creation of the Islamic State. In his opinion, the only way to deal with the Islamic State is with “boots on the ground.”

What do you think about the present strategy of the U.S. against the Islamic State? Is the question about the Middle East for prospective candidates for the Presidency, “Did the withdrawal of troops from Iraq create the vacancy now filled by the Islamic State?” Ought the U.S. stay out of the Middle East?

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  1. MJBubba Member
    MJBubba
    @

    The advances of ISIS are not the advances of “allah,” but the advances of Satan.

    • #1
  2. MJBubba Member
    MJBubba
    @

    What do you think about the present strategy of the United States against the Islamic State?

    The present strategy of the U.S. seems to be to do as little as possible that can be spun by the Team Obama allies in the lamestream media as somehow positive, and hope that the entire Middle East does not blow up before Obama is safely out of office.

    This is part of the wider strategy of bringing the U.S. to a position of weakness.   The intent is to leave America as just another nation among equals, and to completely end its status as a superpower.

    After the way we have betrayed our allies and forgotten our promises in Iraq, the next president will find it very difficult to form any kind of coalition for any purpose in the Middle East.

    • #2
  3. Red Feline Inactive
    Red Feline
    @RedFeline

    MJBubba:The advances of ISIS are not the advances of “allah,” but the advances of Satan.

    That is your opinion, MJ! The Muslim believers wouldn’t disagree with you. In fact, they would be killing you off, as they have already done so many Christians. Especially if you were to blaspheme about Allah, as you have just done. They don’t believe in free speech, as you may have noticed.

    There are over 1,600,000,000 Muslims in the world at present. They believe in and worship Allah as the supreme, sole deity. Islam is one of the major religions of the world.

    • #3
  4. Ricochet Inactive
    Ricochet
    @WardRobles

    Years of war and chaos have weakened the region, the only great power in the area is trying to manage the situation on the cheap, and we have a veritable petri dish the size of Great Britain for an ultra-violent millenarian group to thrive. When Iran gets the bomb, this is where they will use it, unless we go back in and do the surge all over again.

    I am guessing this time we would have to kill a lot more innocent people and destroy a lot more infrastructure to retake Sunni Iraq. The firebombing of Dresden comes to mind. The problem is that Iraq and Syria are not the only failed, failing or possible failed states. What about Libya, Egypt, Afganistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia? I think that the White House is a lot more worried than it admits publicly, because to do so would be a tacit admission of failure, and is attempting to defer the reckoning to the next administration.

    • #4
  5. Red Feline Inactive
    Red Feline
    @RedFeline

    MJBubba:The present strategy of the U.S. seems to be to do as little as possible that can be spun by the Team Obama allies in the lamestream media as somehow positive, and hope that the entire Middle East does not blow up before Obama is safely out of office.

    This is part of the wider strategy of bringing the U.S. to a position of weakness. The intent is to leave America as just another nation among equals, and to completely end its status as a superpower.

    After the way we have betrayed our allies and forgotten our promises in Iraq, the next president will find it very difficult to form any kind of coalition for any purpose in the Middle East.

    It certainly would look look like this! As the military man said, drones won’t do it.

    • #5
  6. Carey J. Inactive
    Carey J.
    @CareyJ

    When Muslims are killing Muslims, it’s a win for civilization. Never interrupt an enemy when he is making a mistake. I’m rather hoping for something like a Muslim version of the Thirty Years War.

    • #6
  7. Larry3435 Inactive
    Larry3435
    @Larry3435

    When Muslims kill each other, it’s hard to say whether Allah is winning or losing.  But I do feel badly for the infidels who get murdered for being caught in the middle.  I’d like to think that Allah feels a bit bummed out by that as well.

    • #7
  8. Zafar Member
    Zafar
    @Zafar

    If Allah’s winning, who’s losing?

    • #8
  9. Carey J. Inactive
    Carey J.
    @CareyJ

    Zafar:If Allah’s winning, who’s losing?

    Civilization?

    • #9
  10. Zafar Member
    Zafar
    @Zafar

    Carey J.:

    Zafar:If Allah’s winning, who’s losing?

    Civilization?

    A very civilised opinion : – )

    • #10
  11. Devereaux Inactive
    Devereaux
    @Devereaux

    In the harsh light of media scrutiny, much does not appear as it is. It gets inflated with the verbage and images, until one can believe there is a veritable omnipotent force at work.

    Except for its oil, the Middle East is of little importance. The Bomb, however, will change all that. So in reality, it is of little import whether ISIS holds Ramadi or Iraq does, or Hexbollah does this or that. The only serious issue facing us is Iran and the Bomb. If we were serious about “solving” that, the rest wouldn’t amount to a hill of beans..

    • #11
  12. Byron Horatio Inactive
    Byron Horatio
    @ByronHoratio

    Yes, I would say the jihadists are on the whole ascendent. The only place where ISIS is [figuratively] getting their heads handed to them is in northern Syria against the communist Kurds there.

    • #12
  13. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    I was looking through the cards and letters of condolence on the recent death of my father, and read one letter that signed off “Allah Mahaba!”  My father was a Lutheran pastor, and I think this letter was from a fellow pastor who lives in a part of the world where there are also large numbers of Muslims.

    I have a different opinion about Allah winning than I do about radical, violent Islam winning.

    • #13
  14. user_231912 Inactive
    user_231912
    @BrianMcMenomy

    We don’t have a strategy in the Middle East right now; we have a toxic brew of moral self-flagellation, political calculation, indecision and tactical/strategic inflexibility.  We are more concerned with answering the question of whether we should have gone into Iraq in 2003 than concern ourselves with why we tossed away a hard-fought, too-long-in-coming victory in order to satisfy political aims.

    To say Allah is winning in the current conflict is to ally Allah with the most vicious, brutal, nihilistic people currently on the planet.  I’ll leave it to others to say whether that linkage is accurate or not.  The fact is that ISIS’ behavior is nothing if not satanic.

    • #14
  15. Simon Templar Member
    Simon Templar
    @

    I read The Book.  In the end, we win.

    • #15
  16. Devereaux Inactive
    Devereaux
    @Devereaux

    Simon Templar:I read The Book. In the end, we win.

    Yes. So much for the “strategies” of little people.

    • #16
  17. Red Feline Inactive
    Red Feline
    @RedFeline

    Ward Robles:Years of war and chaos have weakened the region, the only great power in the area is trying to manage the situation on the cheap, and we have a veritable petri dish the size of Great Britain for an ultra-violent millenarian group to thrive. When Iran gets the bomb, this is where they will use it, unless we go back in and do the surge all over again.

    I am guessing this time we would have to kill a lot more innocent people and destroy a lot more infrastructure to retake Sunni Iraq. The firebombing of Dresden comes to mind. The problem is that Iraq and Syria are not the only failed, failing or possible failed states. What about Libya, Egypt, Afganistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia? I think that the White House is a lot more worried than it admits publicly, because to do so would be a tacit admission of failure, and is attempting to defer the reckoning to the next administration.

    It certainly is a dire situation, and the big question is certainly, what ought the United States do about it, if anything. Would it be like stirring up a hornet’s nest to go in with “boots on the ground”? Or, would cleaning out the Islamic State do the job? The leaders are not just young people with not enough to do in their lives.

    • #17
  18. Simon Templar Member
    Simon Templar
    @

    Red Feline:

    Ward Robles:Years of war and chaos have weakened the region, the only great power in the area is trying to manage the situation on the cheap, and we have a veritable petri dish the size of Great Britain for an ultra-violent millenarian group to thrive. When Iran gets the bomb, this is where they will use it, unless we go back in and do the surge all over again.

    I am guessing this time we would have to kill a lot more innocent people and destroy a lot more infrastructure to retake Sunni…

    It certainly is a dire situation, and the big question is certainly, what ought the United States do about it, if anything. Would it be like stirring up a hornet’s nest to go in with “boots on the ground”? Or, would cleaning out the Islamic State do the job? The leaders are not just young people with not enough to do in their lives.

    If I were the Commander in Chief, I would evacuate as many of the Christians & Jews from the Middle East as possible to a third nation.  Send in the Marines to make a safe zone, kill any and all ISIS who make mischief, and evac the civilians who have managed to make it the safe zone.  We would need to do this in several/many locations.  Then let these satan worshipers go back to work killing each other.  I fully support their efforts to bleed each other white.

    • #18
  19. Red Feline Inactive
    Red Feline
    @RedFeline

    Carey J.:When Muslims are killing Muslims, it’s a win for civilization. Never interrupt an enemy when he is making a mistake. I’m rather hoping for something like a Muslim version of the Thirty Years War.

    Many people seem to share your view, Casey, as it is valid. I’m “catching up with the Americans” at present, watching CNN, and this is being discussed on State of the Union. What is being said is that the Kurds and the Sunni tribesmen who have the will to fight but not the weapons. We need to arm them.

    Apparently, we are training and arming the Iraqis, but they haven’t the will to fight.

    I wonder if this is because the Islamic State is composed of Iraqis, and Islamic Jihadists. Perhaps the Iraqis believe that they really are the true Muslims, and that the Caliph really is the Mahdi. If they do believe this, then Allah is with the Islamic State and it is predestined that they will win.

    • #19
  20. Red Feline Inactive
    Red Feline
    @RedFeline

    Larry3435:When Muslims kill each other, it’s hard to say whether Allah is winning or losing. But I do feel badly for the infidels who get murdered for being caught in the middle. I’d like to think that Allah feels a bit bummed out by that as well.

    That is such a great question, Larry. What kind of god wants its followers to fight, behead, crucify, and subordinate people to its rule? What kind of god wants its followers to dominate the world and impose only one set of religious beliefs on everyone?

    This is in such contrast to Hinduism which is so tolerant. The Brahman reveals itself to each individual in the way that individual can understand and accept. Everything is part of the one great whole. This idea is why, generally speaking, Hindu India is so accepting of life and each individual.

    • #20
  21. Red Feline Inactive
    Red Feline
    @RedFeline

    Zafar:If Allah’s winning, who’s losing?

    Oh, Zafar, what a perceptive question! When Allah wins, everyone loses, in my opinion. The Infidels, the apostates, and also the Islamist Jihadists and moderate Muslims. Allah demands submission, total obedience to his will. Surely mature humans beings take responsibility for their lives and actions? Muslims who are in the total thrall of Allah are not fully mature psychologically, if that is so.

    • #21
  22. Simon Templar Member
    Simon Templar
    @

    Red Feline:

    Carey J.:When Muslims are killing Muslims, it’s a win for civilization. Never interrupt an enemy when he is making a mistake. I’m rather hoping for something like a Muslim version of the Thirty Years War.

    Many people seem to share your view, Casey, as it is valid. I’m “catching up with the Americans” at present, watching CNN, and this is being discussed on State of the Union. What is being said is that the Kurds and the Sunni tribesmen who have the will to fight but not the weapons. We need to arm them.

    Apparently, we are training and arming the Iraqis, but they haven’t the will to fight.

    I wonder if this is because the Islamic State is composed of Iraqis, and Islamic Jihadists. Perhaps the Iraqis believe that they really are the true Muslims, and that the Caliph really is the Mahdi. If they do believe this, then Allah is with the Islamic State and it is predestined that they will win.

    I’m thinking that it is because they are cowards at heart.  You can not train cowards to be warriors, no matter how many US taxpayers dollars you throw at them.  Seems self evident, but problem is that most of our political and military leaders don’t know [expletive] from Shinola.

    • #22
  23. Devereaux Inactive
    Devereaux
    @Devereaux

    Red Feline:

    Carey J.:When Muslims are killing Muslims, it’s a win for civilization. Never interrupt an enemy when he is making a mistake. I’m rather hoping for something like a Muslim version of the Thirty Years War.

    Many people seem to share your view, Casey, as it is valid. I’m “catching up with the Americans” at present, watching CNN, and this is being discussed on State of the Union. What is being said is that the Kurds and the Sunni tribesmen who have the will to fight but not the weapons. We need to arm them.

    Apparently, we are training and arming the Iraqis, but they haven’t the will to fight.

    I wonder if this is because the Islamic State is composed of Iraqis, and Islamic Jihadists. Perhaps the Iraqis believe that they really are the true Muslims, and that the Caliph really is the Mahdi. If they do believe this, then Allah is with the Islamic State and it is predestined that they will win.

    I expect we are trying to please Iran, so we back the Iraqis (what’s left of them) and leave the Kurds and Sunni hanging in the wind.

    • #23
  24. Devereaux Inactive
    Devereaux
    @Devereaux

    Red Feline:

    Larry3435:When Muslims kill each other, it’s hard to say whether Allah is winning or losing. But I do feel badly for the infidels who get murdered for being caught in the middle. I’d like to think that Allah feels a bit bummed out by that as well.

    That is such a great question, Larry. What kind of god wants its followers to fight, behead, crucify, and subordinate people to its rule? What kind of god wants its followers to dominate the world and impose only one set of religious beliefs on everyone?

    This is in such contrast to Hinduism which is so tolerant. The Brahman reveals itself to each individual in the way that individual can understand and accept. Everything is part of the one great whole. This idea is why, generally speaking, Hindu India is so accepting of life and each individual.

    An islamic “god”. It is what is called for in the Koran and associated texts.

    • #24
  25. Red Feline Inactive
    Red Feline
    @RedFeline

    Devereaux:In the harsh light of media scrutiny, much does not appear as it is. It gets inflated with the verbage and images, until one can believe there is a veritable omnipotent force at work.

    Except for its oil, the Middle East is of little importance. The Bomb, however, will change all that. So in reality, it is of little import whether ISIS holds Ramadi or Iraq does, or Hexbollah does this or that. The only serious issue facing us is Iran and the Bomb. If we were serious about “solving” that, the rest wouldn’t amount to a hill of beans..

    You are so correct, Dev, when you talk about the distorted picture the media paints of the Middle East. On the other hand, in the eyes of true believer Muslims, it does appear that Allah is winning. The Islamic State is expanding its territory, and defeating the Iraqi forces easily. People who have never been religious themselves, don’t understand the power of religious ideology. With every win, it must appear to Muslims that perhaps the Mahdi has arrived, and perhaps Allah is winning. Look how powerful Communism was, and still is with some people. Marxism is still with us. Ideas don’t die.

    The vision of the extreme Muslims of Iran having the Bomb is definitely a nightmare of much greater proportions than the Islamic State.

    • #25
  26. Devereaux Inactive
    Devereaux
    @Devereaux

    Simon Templar:

    Red Feline:

    Carey J.:…

    Apparently, we are training and arming the Iraqis, but they haven’t the will to fight.

    I wonder if this is because the Islamic State is composed of Iraqis, and Islamic Jihadists. Perhaps the Iraqis believe that they really are the true Muslims, and that the Caliph really is the Mahdi. If they do believe this, then Allah is with the Islamic State and it is predestined that they will win.

    I’m thinking that it is because they are cowards at heart. You can not train cowards to be warriors, no matter how many US taxpayers dollars you throw at them. Seems self evident, but problem is that most of our political and military leaders don’t know [expletive] from Shinola.

    Certainly a valid conclusion, seeing their sterling performance in the Iran-Iraq war and their subsequent actions with ISIS.

    Still, I wonder. Perhaps they really don’t have anything to fight for. Guys like you and me are accustomed to fighting because it is necessary. But these are tribal types; they don’t fight unless there is a clearcut benefit.

    Edited to reflect Simon’s comments.

    • #26
  27. Simon Templar Member
    Simon Templar
    @

    Devereaux:

    Simon Templar:

    Red Feline:

    Carey J.:…

    Many people seem to share your view, Casey, as it is valid. I’m “catching up with the Americans” at present, watching CNN, and this is being discussed on State of the Union. What is being said is that the Kurds and the Sunni tribesmen who have the will to fight but not the weapons. We need to arm them.

    Apparently, we are training and arming the Iraqis, but they haven’t the will to fight.

    I wonder if this is because the Islamic State is composed of Iraqis, and Islamic Jihadists. Perhaps the Iraqis believe that they really are the true Muslims, and that the Caliph really is the Mahdi. If they do believe this, then…

    I’m thinking that it is because they are cowards at heart. You can not train cowards to be warriors, no matter how many US taxpayers dollars you throw at them. Seems self evident, but problem is that most of our political and military leaders don’t know [expletive] from Shinola.

    Certainly a valid conclusion, seeing their sterling performance in the Iran-Iraq war and their subsequent actions with ISIS.

    Still, I wonder. Perhaps they really don’t have anything to fight for. Guys like you are accustomed to fighting because it is necessary. But these are tribal types; they don’t fight unless there is a clearcut benefit.

    Edited to read:  Guys like you and me…

    And:  clear cut benefit at low risk to self.

    • #27
  28. Red Feline Inactive
    Red Feline
    @RedFeline

    Byron Horatio:Yes, I would say the jihadists are on the whole ascendent.The only place where ISIS is [figuratively] getting their heads handed to them is in northern Syria against the communist Kurds there.

    The Kurds seem to be a strong people, Byron. They are used to being a minority in Turkey, for instance, so their struggles for independence, or even just basic rights, is perhaps what has made them so?

    I’ve just been looking them up in Wikipedia. 40,000,000 people of the same ethnic group is not to be ignored.

    • #28
  29. Red Feline Inactive
    Red Feline
    @RedFeline

    The Reticulator:I was looking through the cards and letters of condolence on the recent death of my father, and read one letter that signed off “Allah Mahaba!” My father was a Lutheran pastor, and I think this letter was from a fellow pastor who lives in a part of the world where there are also large numbers of Muslims.

    I have a different opinion about Allah winning than I do about radical, violent Islam winning.

    So sorry to hear of the recent death of your father, TR! Always such a blow!

    Moderate Muslims are not proper Muslims in the eyes of the Islamist Jihadists, as no doubt you know. Lovely people, but not reading the Qur’an literally. Which means they have reformed Islam.

    • #29
  30. Red Feline Inactive
    Red Feline
    @RedFeline

    Brian McMenomy:We don’t have a strategy in the Middle East right now; we have a toxic brew of moral self-flagellation, political calculation, indecision and tactical/strategic inflexibility. We are more concerned with answering the question of whether we should have gone into Iraq in 2003 than concern ourselves with why we tossed away a hard-fought, too-long-in-coming victory in order to satisfy political aims.

    To say Allah is winning in the current conflict is to ally Allah with the most vicious, brutal, nihilistic people currently on the planet. I’ll leave it to others to say whether that linkage is accurate or not. The fact is that ISIS’ behavior is nothing if not satanic.

    To leave Iraq having thrown out the army of Saddam Hussein and left it on the loose, as it were, did seem to be asking for trouble. To leave before the new regime was fully established, also did seem to be asking for trouble.

    It does beg the question, what were Americans thinking? This brings us back to your excellent analysis of that toxic brew!

    • #30
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