Isis, A Terrifying New World Order ?

[Khandro]

Are our leaders getting it all wrong ?

http://new.spectator.co.uk/2015/11/islamic-state-is-making-its-threats-a-reality/

[jourdain2]

I tend to agree v-e. (hope the short form is acceptable).

[keyplus90]

"New World Order", these words do sound familiar.

[naomi24]

^No doubt.

[Zacs-Master]

Tired old rhetoric. The journo should be ashamed.

[Khandro]

Zacs; //Tired old rhetoric. The journo should be ashamed// of what?
I can only conclude that your complacency stems from a feeling of detachment from these events. Your nose may be rubbed in it to awaken you if our European leaders have their way, some of whom wish to embrace Turkey as an EU member, should this abhorrent proposal become reality, you will be facing the prospect of having Syria, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon and Georgia on your very border - the EU even has an office and a minister for expansion. Merkel (who has lost her mind) has been recently wandering around the Balkans recruiting more members. But we will not be expanding 'out', these countries will be creeping 'in' and by stealth and what you see as tired rhetoric might materialise to something beyond your complacency and manifest itself on your very street. We are not automatically exempt from the horrors of the news footage we see every night on television. ISIS has an agenda, and we are very much part of it.

[vetuste_ennemi]

Conflict of visions. Title of a book by Tom Sowell (wot I've read). Same facts, different interpretations. Some of us are sunny optimists and some of us believe in the Old Adam.

[SpikeyBush]

It is too late to turn the clock back. IMO the toppling of Saddam Hussein aided the spread of IS. OK he was a threat and a ruthless dictator but he would never have allowed the spread within Iraq of IS which has occurred. There would still be an IS presence but not to the extent of which we face today.

What a can of worms Tony Blair and George Dubya opened.

[237SJ]

Spikeybush - I completely agree with you

[Hypognosis]

Re: Saddam

Even though there were no WMDs, he *was*, nevertheless, lobbing loads of conventional warheads against Israel. (Okay so the missile defence system zapped most of them but the intention was still there, so he had to go).

And who made the SCUD launcher systems that Saddam used?

//
Here was more evidence, too, that Islamic State’s strategy of recruiting the Muslim masses by impoverishing them, while damning all among them who do not shun or kill infidels, is likely to be far more consequential than al-Qaeda’s spectacular attacks against prominent western targets.
//

Just in case we miss a trick, who else might gain by impoverishing Egypt?

[Zacs-Master]

I've come in for a bit of stick for,,seemingly, burying my head in the sand. I'm not. To my critics; please re read my posts, neither of which deny the threat of ISIS as a potential (please look this word up in a dictionary if you're unsure) NWO. You will note that my comments criticise the very poor journalistic skills of the articles author, who, by writing their article, was hopefully out to convince people of the threat of ISIS. My comments relate to said journo's schoolboy error statements and cliched phraseology, one of which, in my mind, rubbished the article before it had begun.

If ABers want to believe ISIS is a world threat now then they are deluded and seem to have fallen for the hyperbole of this (and probably) other journo's. I, believe it or not, am as concerned as the next man that ISIS are probably the most dangerous threat to the world we know and love but I will not let poor journalism whip me up into a frenzied, illogical, gnashing of teeth. If that's your style then fine but I prefer to believe that our govt and those of other countries are doing all they can to route this abominable force of evil in ways non of the general populace know about. Do you seriously think China is just standing idle watching this threat grow? Russia is also indicating it's concern in very practical ways.

If you could all start thinking for yourselves and take that brass ring, which the gutter press seem to be able to lead you with, out of your snouts, then you may be able to see beyond them.

Come on ABers, you're better than that. Surely?

[waterboatman]

Time they were sorted out big style...permanently!

[vetuste_ennemi]

"I tend to agree v-e. (hope the short form is acceptable).".

I refer to myself as VE in posts, Jourdain. Thats about as short as you can get, innit?

Actually the monicker is derived from a misremembered (and ungrammatical) version of headline in Le Monde. The article was about the foundering of the Erika off Brittany; its title was a quote from Le Cid - "O vieillesse ennemie!".

[Khandro]

v_e;
On dit "qu'aucun plan de bataille ne résiste au contact avec l'ennemi."

(It's been said that, "No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.")

[vetuste_ennemi]

Aware of the quote, but not its author, Khandro.

[Khandro]

Il est anonyme je crois.

[vetuste_ennemi]

Attributed by Wiki (in the English form "no plan survives contact with the enemy") to Helmuth von Moltke, a disciple of Clausewitz, Khandro.

[Khandro]

v_e; So it was, and in German too. He also said of strategy;
"Strategy is a system of makeshifts. It is more than a science. It is bringing knowledge to bear on practical life, the further elaboration of an original guiding idea under constantly changing circumstances. It is the art of acting under the pressure of the most demanding conditions...That is why general principles, rules derived from them, and systems based on these rules cannot possibly have any value for strategy."

A real Mensch

[Hypognosis]

I recall one episode of Time Commanders http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Commanders

in which one of the team leaders fell foul of "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing" and stuck rigidly with having a couple of his units hold onto a hilltop position, because "holding the high ground" was, supposedly, vital. They lost the battle because all the units which couldn't fit on the (small) hill were systematicalły mashed up by their opponent's forces, working en bloc, at such a distance that the forces on the hill could neither make their missile weapons reach*, nor run to assist without "losing" the high ground, to which they were so attached.

"Rules" are something of a security blanket for those who are unable to think outside the tram-tracks.

* The simulation was set in the Roman time period so the missile troops used everything from throwing spears to thrown stones, slingshot or, where historically correct, archers. Ballistic formulae dictate you get extra range from an elevated position but that is all. In this specific battle they were only skirmishers using a hand-thrown weapon which is only accurate from close quarters so the hill did not help bring any enemy units into range.