Syria, Iraq and al-Qaeda

The jihadists may have gone too far

From Baghdad to Beirut, a growing backlash against the most extreme of the jihadists may change the course of civil wars in Syria and Iraq

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Connect The Dots

Syria is the biggest graveyard for young Jihadists of this generation.

It is a human meat grinder with NO Geneva Convention Rules: nerve gas, cutting off of limbs, decapitations, desecration of corpses. And of course no prisoners, just prompt executions.

Yet it is also taxing terrorists that they cannot threaten the World.
All efforts, men, and material go to Syria.


Leave them to their own devices.
And let the Arabs seek an Arab and Islamic Solution.
Western Intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan has proven to be futile.
The West has no choice but to isolate and contain combatants in Syria and prevent any exit.
Syria is the price for World Security.

Let them kill each other. There is no other option.

If your enemy is destroying himself, then leave him alone.


"The jihadists may have gone too far"
TE journalists are really beyond belief. Do you really expect the Jihadists to ever be moderates, to be rational?
You have supported them bringing down Assad and expected democracy afterwards, you are seriously deluded.


This seems like a simplistic narrative. The backlash in public opinion will matter little in stopping ISIS and similar jihadi groups. What needs to change in order for these groups to be eradicated? There needs to be a backlash against the financiers of these jihadi groups. Including both those who supply them money, and those who supply them ideology. I believe it is self-evident that there will never be a backlash against those who supply the ideology, since that ideology is nested in their faith. Basically, there will need to be a backlash against Islam itself in order for the carnage to come to an end.

Michael Martinez

Unfortunately most western strategists seem to be mistaking the conflict (now raging in about 30 nations) for a series of loosely connected wars. We're experiencing a viral war on a scale never before seen.

ISIS is an anomaly but the enemy relies on our arrogance to get past our defenses. We defeat them in the battlefield, they scatter across the globe, and they recruit more followers. And then they come back to fight again.

They are water flowing across a careening ship. There is a single strategy at work here. It's not a traditional strategy of seize-and-hold but rather a strategy of grow-and-spread. They'll figure out the seizing and holding later.

Each little conflict serves as the training ground for new generations of fighters and communicators. The communicators are the most dangerous because they keep the network active and they facilitate the recruitment.

We have been playing catchup since 9/11 and we have never managed to come even with the enemy.

Swiss Reader in reply to Faiso0ol

Faiso0ol - The Economist is influential because it is a very good newspaper; but indeed in the Middle East it has erred spectacularly more than once, from supporting the Iraq war to calling for a bombing campaign in Syria. So I understand your anger.

But it isn't only the Western world which has no clue about the Middle East, but also most Middle Easterners seem to profoundly misunderstand the West. There is no sinister conspiracy to keep the Muslim world in serfdom and poverty. Most ordinary Americans are genuinely driven by a desire to make the world a better place, which involves promoting democracy. Witness what happened in Egypt - nobody likes the Brothers, but they have gained power democratically, and therefore got some (grudging) acceptance if not support. In judging Western policy please never forget Hanlon's razor: "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."


As I have posted before, I think the extremist Jihadi groups are more a psychological phenomena than a religious or political one. They are an excuse for angry people to band together to do angry things, and as has happened before, they will inevitably alienate others. Sooner or later - probably sooner - they'll defeat themselves.

tzatz in reply to Faiso0ol

You said: "Iraq was a majority Sunni nation when Saddam was in power."
WRONG. Iraq was and is a MAJORITY Shia country. It was ruled by a Sunni DICTATORSHIP … A VILE, FASCIST, POLICE STATE …
You said: "Education (not propaganda), … (is) the … things that will bring peace and stability to this region …"
SECULAR KNOWLEDGE will change the Arab/Muslim ME … that's true. But the infrastructure of that system will not be allowed to flourish … there are plenty of 'educational institutions' in the ME but their graduates DON'T HAVE THE SKILLS TO WORK IN 21st C jobs! The Gulf States still IMPORT the 'brains' to run their countries!!!
Arab/Muslims aren't stupider (exceptions can be made) than other people BUT … OTHERS aren't held back by their 'culture' MEANING ISLAM!
The Arab/Muslims are the bottom-feeders on Planet Earth BECAUSE OF ISLAM!
Thank you for reading!

Lonewolf Ethos in reply to HDMW

It's odd that the Economist believes that the jihadist religion includes a subset of congregants called "the most extreme of the jihadists" (found in their subtitle).

But these jihad practitioners also migrate to Western countries and blow up our civilian populations.

/cf. the Fort Hood jihad mass-murderer.


This can only end badly for the salafists. Right now they're mainly a danger only in the Mid-East, but should they become a real worldwide threat... they will be erradicated. By erradicated I mean hunted to the last man and put to death. They and their ideology pose a threat to 6+ billion people who don't share their beliefs, and eventually they will be dealt with as one deals with any dangerous pest - extermination. They want to kill or convert the world, and the world won't be having it.

If they should aquire one or more nukes from Pakistan or N. Korea and use them, that erradication will come quite swiftly and violently, with finality and thoroughness.

tzatz in reply to Michael Martinez

Never before in the history of Planet Earth have Muslims been allowed to emigrate from their lands INTO WESTERN lands … thereby creating pockets of Muslims in the WEST …

Jihadis/Salafis/Islamists are AMONG THEM … and they're here!

The nature of Islam 'conquering' the lands where they populate is clear … Islam conquered BY THE SWORD … from India to the ME … to North Africa … to Spain … like the Roman acquisition of Christianity … ONE universal RELIGION goes a long way into UNIFYING the Empire … the Jihadis/Salafis/Islamists are waging a war in the ME currently … and occasionally causing disturbances here in the WEST … 9/11 … 7/7 … Madrid bombing … various attacks in the USA (Fort Hood, Times Square et al)

It's a Police matter here in the WEST … in the ME its a war of cultures … which one will win out? I'm not betting against the Jihadis/Salafis/Islamists … but by the same token … they DO NOT HAVE ANY ANSWERS


" ISIS claimed responsibility for a car bomb on January 2nd which targeted loyalists to Hizbullah"

It was a car bomb in a largely Shia area 'targeting' if that is the appropriate word, random civilians...that is like saying the IRA was targeting British loyalists...please don;t show your prejudice so clearly.

DriftWood79 in reply to Michael Martinez

I believe you are failing to see what is going on. Its a power struggle by Salafists Saudi Arabia for influence in the region. They are happy to send and fund their angry young men there, just to see another moderate shia run country in chaos and civil war. What rises from the ashes will be another little salafistan.

America and the rest blundered badly after 911. Not realizing they where in bed with the enemy. Its not Iraq, Iran, Afganistan or Syria that is the root problem. Its our "friend" Saudi Arabia.


"You can extinguish the man, but you can not extinguish the idea"
I really don't understand what gives half of you the right the write articles, make comments, share opinions that actually have influence over vast swathes of audiences around the world!
You can NOT stop Al Qaeda, or any radical group for that matter, with guns or drones. And I truly believe those who grip the reigns of power everywhere, West and East alike, know this. You are all being played for fools when you are told that the answer is to go into a sovereign nation and wage war. Iraq was a majority Sunni nation when Saddam was in power. Now, the country is majority Shia and have driven large numbers of Sunni Muslims out of Iraq. Perhaps THAT is why such radical groups like ISIS, or whatever the hell the all these Western news channels are calling it, have gained so much influence and caused so much destruction. Perhaps their families, tribes, communities, livelihood were persecuted by a Shia-led government backed by the US and other Western Nations. And maybe THAT is why there are such radical a**holes running rampant throughout the Middle East.
My references and sources; I live and breathe the Arab world. That has more credibility than any of these journalists reporting on how "a growing backlash against the most extreme of the jihadists may change the course of civil wars in Syria and Iraq" No, it won't, Economist.
It won't change sh*t. You know why? Because its news references like these that report such bias crap that feeds this propaganda machine, the "terrorist".
My tone may indicate sympathy for ISIS, but do not be fooled; I am Sunni and I hate them more than anyone else on this forum. They are what is holding back the Arab World's true potential to flourish and prosper - amongst other things. And Saddam was an idiot, he invaded Kuwait, for whatever reason. But going in to invade Iraq? That was sunny boy Bush finishing his daddy and all their greedy oil, cement, road, weapons contractors master plan. $$$
Education (not propaganda), health, technology - those are the three things that will bring peace and stability to this region, as well as all other regions resonant with political and religious strife.
Thank you for reading.

supamark in reply to David_H87

Not Islam itself, just the salafists and their (mostly Saudi peninsula) financiers. the Saudis (and Pakistan) are the key - cut off the salfists' money and "soapbox" there and they'll whither.

alternately, exterminate them. they're an existensial threat to everyone else in the world, and eventually it will come to extermination - especially if they get hold of one of Pakistan's nukes.


Hello :
Jihad may have gone too far! Good Grief.
Jihad can't go any further. Jihad is already too far.

Jihad means violence, unless one agrees to every possible Islamist demand, and even then one cannot be certain of safety.

Waken up and smell the coffe.
Regards : Hubert Wagner

tzatz in reply to kiratwan

So what are YOU saying? That the Arab/Muslims are over a 1000 YEARS behind the WEST?

The bottom line is … they are way BEHIND … culturally … educationally … 

Can we in the WEST wait for them to catch up? Or will they continue to attempt to BLOW US UP REAL GOOD while we wait for them to attain our level of civilization?

What YOU must understand is that ONLY secular education NOT MORE ISLAM is the way out … What YOU must understand is that NOT TRANSLATING BOOKS INTO ARABIC that would teach and grow the culture … Islam DENIED THIS KNOWLEDGE IN FEAR OF 'LOSING' THE PEOPLE! Let me know when that changes!

Look Islam might have been relevant BUT THAT WAS 1000 YEARS AGO!

You said: "… Middle East has been under colonial
rule since 13th century …"

Huh? Muslims ruled the ME … whether from Baghdad … Damascus … Cairo or Istanbul … what's YOUR POINT?

mclayton200 in reply to Esteban Cafe

Do you really think "the grownups return to power" in US would be helpful? If those "adults" had NOT invaded Iraq, and thus worsened the problems in Afghanistan-Pakistan while at the same time encouraging more Jihadist volunteers, the "911 reprisals" might have been successful, and the world might have long ago turned against Al Qaeda globally. We prefer to keep our recent "adults" on retirement pensions, thank you very much, not more meddling in world affairs in the interest of oil control.

guest-lnelmje in reply to tzatz

In that case I would agree with you completely, the brand of "Islam" pushed by the jihadis is exactly the problem. I just don't really consider it Islam anymore because as someone who was born and raised in the religion, it seems to me distorted almost beyond recognition.



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