You want logic from insane people like ISIS?
What’s so insane about them?
I, uh, really don’t know how to answer this. I kind of assume chopping people’s heads off equals insane, but obviously you have a different opinion on the matter.
Yeah, how crazy for a militant group to kill people in the territory they’re operating in. That’s just completely inexplicable behavior.
So, I operate in an area and if I start lopping people’s heads off then that isn’t crazy as well?
If you’re trying to seize control of an area by force of arms, then no, it’s not crazy. It may be evil, objectionable, and extremely unpleasant behavior, but it’s not crazy.
I guess we’ll have to disagree on what constitutes crazy because unless you’re in the midst of a sword fight, I don’t see much justification, other than ‘crazy’, to explain such actions.
Isn’t it insane, in the 21st Century, to try to found a state based on Shari’a law? Even for devout Muslims?
How is cutting someone’s head off any crazier than shooting them or blowing them up?
All those militant Islamic groups make grandiose claims about their piety and purity. It’s just a marketing pitch to get the support of the people. To talk about ISIS founding a state is to puff up their capabilities way beyond what they can credibly achieve.
If they were holding people down and deliberately shooting them then I’d say crazy as well. What are you trying to get at here that you seek to justify unjustifiable actions?
But, they are founding a state, organizing it and policing it.
I’m not trying to justify anything, I just don’t think violent behavior from a militant group is something that is inexplicable. To call it insane means there’s no possible way of explaining the behavior. But when young men arm themselves and set out to take control of an area, it’s not exactly a surprise when they resort to violence.
They entered a vacuum created by a weak Shiite-dominated government in Iraq. They’re not in control of any area that military forces have contested them. Seriously, ISIS is just a few thousand dudes with guns and a savvy social media presence. They just got pushed out of the Mosul dam last week because the Iraqi government bit the bullet and sent army special forces to assist the Kurds.
Either they are capable of establishing an IS or they are not.
If they are, then attacking Norway (or the US for that matter) would be inviting exactly the kind of attention they are getting right now - US bombing them out of the territory they controlled only a couple of weeks ago.
If it’s all puffery, then attacking foreign nations using terrorist tactics makes sense because it’s the only real option they have to annoy and hurt their enemies.
In a way, not bombing them out of existence and letting them have some small amount of territory in Syria and Iraq may focus their energies on keeping that territory and not look to punish those who they see as denying them the opportunity to establish their IS. Also, it keeps them a regional problem, not a global one.
This is the closest to a cite so far. It’s couched in the usual "sources say … " crap that makes it unverifiable, but it looks somewhat better than blogosphere bloviating.
Killing someone in the midst of a battle in war may not be insane. But, when you have control of them and they no longer resist, then it is pretty batshit crazy to lop their heads off because there is no reason to do so other than for shits and giggles or their own warped take on religion, etc.
That being said, I’m personally not adverse to putting down mad dogs and many of these people, even if they throw down their arms, deserve a long and painful death.
Although I consider them Satan worshippers and wouldn’t consider it unlikely for them to do to it for no other reason than out of the love of bloody murder, you might get some indication on how they reason from this article: Italy Steps Up Security Over Alleged ISIS Plot to Kill The Pope
There may be method behind the madness here. Terrorizing one’s enemies is a long standing tradition in war. If your reputation precedes you with respect to being particularly cruel, you are more likely to strike fear in your opponent and therefore have a psychological advantage on the battle field. You may even avoid some fights because the opposing forces will simply surrender or retreat.
<bolding mine>
Aren’t you in fact condoning the very thing you’re condemning?
Not in the least. People who chop other people’s heads off deserve the same and worse treatment. Are the people ISIS killing deserving of such fates? Most likely not.
Some modern-day Dr. Seuss for the far right:
ISIS, ISIS, in our heads.
ISIS, ISIS, below our beds.
ISIS, ISIS, in the trees.
ISIS, ISIS, in twos and threes.