Islamic State (no such thing) fraying from within? Recruiting shortfalls?

Penny for your thoughts

WaPo

Keep in Mind -There is no “Islamic State”- There is a msm presentation of such an entity existing, in order to justify NATO/Israeli military intervention. There is no “Islamic State” There are only bought and paid for mercenaries waging a destabilization campaign, in order to remake the middle east.
Considering the aformentioned facts, how should we interpret the allegations of fraying in the non existent state? I will highlight interesting bits

“The anecdotal reports, drawn from activists and residents of areas under Islamic State control, don’t offer any indication that the group faces an immediate challenge to its stranglehold over the mostly Sunni provinces of eastern Syria and western Iraq that form the backbone of its self-proclaimed caliphate. Battlefield reversals have come mostly on the fringes of its territory, while organized opposition remains unlikely as long as viable alternatives are lacking and the fear of vicious retribution remains high, Syrians, Iraqis and analysts say.

The bigger threat to the Islamic State’s capacity to endure, however, may come from within, as its grandiose promises collide with realities on the ground, said Lina Khatib, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut.

Most striking are the growing signs of friction between the foreigners lured by its state-building experiment and local recruits, who have grown resentful of the preferential treatment meted out to the expatriates, including higher salaries and better living conditions.

Foreign fighters get to live in the cities, where coalition airstrikes are relatively rare because of the risk of civilian casualties, while Syrian fighters are required to serve in rural outposts more vulnerable to attacks, said an activist who opposes the Islamic State and lives in the town of Abu Kamal on Syria’s border with Iraq. The activist spoke on the condition of anonymity”

Friction between foreigners?

“Shootouts have erupted on several occasions on the streets of the town, including one last week between foreign fighters and Syrians who refused an order by a Kuwaiti commander to deploy to the front lines in Iraq, the activist said. The Syrian faction, under the command of Saddam Jamal, a former Free Syrian Army leader, remains in the town, keeping a tense and wary distance from the faction led by the Kuwaiti, he said”

A Kuwait commander in ISIS? Foreign fighters & Syrians refusing an order from a Kuwaiti commander to deploy to Iraq?

“In an incident in the Iraqi city of Ramadi in January, local allies battled a group made up mostly of Chechens after the foreigners decided to head back to Syria, according to Hassan al-Dulaimi, a retired police general who works with tribal fighters aligned against the Islamic State. “The Iraqis feared they were being abandoned,” he said”

Local allies (no nationalities mentioned) battle Chechens,(foreigners) out of fear of abandonment?

I do wonder at the role of criminal activity in these disputes? Drug trafficking? Organ trafficking? Human trafficking?  There sure has been a lot of that going on for years and years. And  undoubtedly this infighting seems akin to gangs fighting for turf and profits

“There have been signs, too, that some foreign jihadists are growing disillusioned, with activists in the Syrian provinces of Deir al-Zour and Raqqa describing several instances in which foreigners have sought local help to escape across the border to Turkey. The bodies of between 30 and 40 men, many of whom appeared to be Asian, were found last month in the Raqqa town of Tabqa. They are thought to be the remains of a group of jihadist fighters who tried to flee”

I wonder if the stream of foreign recruits that NATO had been counting on has dried up? Never mind the ones trying to leaving because waging war isn’t as romantic or as profitable as they had been lead to believe.

“New restrictions on travel in and out of areas controlled by the Islamic State have been imposed in recent weeks, including a prohibition on truck drivers transporting men without permission, the activist group says. Public executions, a core component of Islamic State discipline, have in recent weeks been extended to about 120 of the group’s own members.

Some were accused of spying and one of smoking, but suspicions are widespread that most were simply fighters caught trying to flee.“

Very Interesting Graphic- That’s sure a whole lot of foreign recruits- not including the professional soldiers affiliated with NATO. I quickly added up the totals and the foreign recruits, admitted to or known, add up to well over 20,000 fighters- yes, I could be wrong on the total. Please add them up for yourself!

Yup, it sure seems the chickens are flying the coop! And the leadership, likely NATO affiliated special ops,  are trying to prevent them from leaving or killing them lest they tell some tales to the world..

“Increasingly, the Islamic State is recruiting fighters among children and teens who remain more vulnerable than older adults to the group’s propaganda, said a businessman living in Raqqa who last week paid condolences to family friends whose 15-year-old son had been killed on the front line.

The parents didn’t know he had gone to fight and learned of his death from a neighbor just days after he had disappeared from home, recalled the businessman, who, like others interviewed, spoke on the condition of anonymity because he fears for his safety.

Intensified efforts to persuade Syrians to go to the front lines in Iraq include offers of up to $800 a month in salary, according to Ahmed Mhidi, who arrived in Turkey two weeks ago from the Syrian city of Deir al-Zour and is setting up an opposition group called DZGraph. The offer has won few takers, he said.“

 Ahmed Mhidi arrives in Turkey attempts to recruit fighters with money- Who is Ahmed Mhidi? Where did he come from?  DZGraph? Odd name.

“Foreigners continue to volunteer, streaming across the Turkish border into the Islamic State’s self-styled capital of Raqqa, according to residents there. The city’s population has been swelled by thousands of Europeans, Asians, Arabs and Africans. Upon arrival they are given cars and apartments, and they mill about among the city’s cafes and markets, lending a cosmopolitan air to streets where foreigners once were rare, according to Abu Ibrahim al-Raqqawi, the pseudonym of one of the founders of the Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently group, who now lives in Turkey.

Many of the foreigners show little inclination to travel to the front lines, he said. “They just want to live in the Islamic State,” he said.“They didn’t come to fight.”

How useful they would be to the Islamic State’s military efforts is also in question, said the Carnegie Middle East Center’s Khatib.

“Ultimately, they are only attracting people on the margins of society, without much education or useful skills,” she said. “It’s not exactly bolstering their military capability.”

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   

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