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Kurds oust Islamic State fighters from Kobani after 4-month battle

22 Comments
By ZEINA KARAM

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22 Comments
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I think that there's a realistic prospect of kicking IS out of Iraq in due time (Mosul, Ramadi and Tikrit being the big battles to come), however I agree that it'll be tough to dislodge them in Syria, until / unless the current stalemate in the civil war is broken. Containment, however, is already happening, and they have enemies on every side, not to mention within their controlled territory. Their claims of statehood are laughable, as they can't even secure their supply lines, let alone build a functioning society - except some semblance of one through coercion.

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frontandcenter:

" I think it's too early to say what impact this ignominious defeat will have on IS's recruiting, but I very much doubt it will help them, the Kurds having shattered an already fragile myth that IS only go forward. "

I agree it is a setback, and we won´t see Kobani mentioned in glorious jihad videos from ISIS; but to conclude from that that ISIS is finished is wishful thinking. They are firmly in control of the Sunni triangle, incredibly the US is helping ISIS by supporting Sunni rebels against Assad. It is a pipe dream to believe that ISIS is now contracting.

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Good stuff, hopefully the kurds are able to establish a country for themselves they are pretty backwards and do things like female circumcision but at least they are rising up to the challenge of IS

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WilliB,

I think it's too early to say what impact this ignominious defeat will have on IS's recruiting, but I very much doubt it will help them, the Kurds having shattered an already fragile myth that IS only go forward. Anyone contemplating joining the losing side, however zealous, might not be keen on instant martyrdom to defend Al Baghdadi's doomed empire. Hence the conscription of civilians in IS-controlled territory and the brainwashing of small children into becoming killers and suicide bombers.

This is particularly despicable - and evidence of their desperation. They are losing.

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@HonestDictator,

People need to understand that the Islamists aren't fighting to protect anything, they're fighting to dictate and enforce their beliefs the lives of others. The Kurds are fighting to protect their lives, their families, and their children from being massacred.

Couldn't agree more. Let's not forget Kurds are Muslims, too.

A wedge needs to be driven between the Islamists (extremists) and ordinary Muslims.

Attempting this downstream of the billions the Saudis spend promoting intolerance can only be seen as a cynical strategy to further enrich arms manufacturers and the insecurity infrastructure that gains further billions from the last country on this small planet of ours to not allow women to drive.

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What do you call the countries that manufacture the weapons they (and others) use,

Exporters, dealers, sellers, etc.

What do you call the countries that manufacture the vehicles they use, the clothes they wear, the food they eat?

Exporters, dealers, sellers, etc.

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frontcenter:

" It's a massive blow, because thousands of IS-Daesh terrorists, including a lot of their experienced foreign fighters, have reportedly been wiped out in Kobane, for a gain of precisely NOTHING. "

Wishful thinking. You forget that ISIS receives a steady flow of new recruits, that they have a steady income from both oil sales, hostage deals, support from Saudi and Qatari sources, and (incredibly) from Western countries who pay an ISIS tax in order to delivery humanitarian aid to ISIS territories, and they are firmly in control of Eastern Syria and Western Iraq.

Kobane is of a course a nice setback, but not all that significant in the big picture.

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A-10s...a very bad year for Daesh scum just turned into a nightmare:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SE6VCn3pR8

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@Sensenotsocommon. Actions speak louder than words. And the actions the multiple Islamist groups and their supporters in the muslim community have pretty much wiped out any real trust that Islam has any shred of peace for anyone. Plus, if you had any idea of the historical facts of Mohammed, it should sink in that the religion itself is in desperate need of severe and excessive reformation which can only come from within.

People need to understand that the Islamists aren't fighting to protect anything, they're fighting to dictate and enforce their beliefs the lives of others. The Kurds are fighting to protect their lives, their families, and their children from being massacred.

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Asimov's Salvor Hardin character is so pre-Google:

"Nothing has to be true, but everything has to sound like it was."

Why let the truth get in the way of anti-Sharia hysteria?

89 percent of the residents of the Palestinian Authority support enforcing Sharia law- with the emphasis on the enforcement

Muslims don't account for 89% of PA residents. It's 89% of a sample of 994 Muslims polled.

"with the emphasis on the enforcement" - your embellishment for your agenda. Pew doesn't mention enforcement, or any of its derivatives.

Your post conveniently overlooks the poll's other findings:

45% of those 994 Palestinian Muslims say Sharia is open to multiple interpretation; and the majority (53%) say Sharia shouldn't apply to non-Muslims.

http://www.pewforum.org/2013/04/30/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-appc/ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/we.html

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This is actually much, much bigger news than the fate of one Japanese hostage. It's a massive blow, because thousands of IS-Daesh terrorists, including a lot of their experienced foreign fighters, have reportedly been wiped out in Kobane, for a gain of precisely NOTHING.

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Right now, ISIS is on a roll

They have been suffering defeats after defeats in the battlefields lately.

When's the last time ISIS won a battle?

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Probably its the beginning of IS end and it should end.

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The Kurds fight for their survival. Muslim extremists will continue to raise hell in days to come, especially after another false claimed in Yemen by Obama and a new Saudi king. The M.E. and the world are more than dangerous than ever, and thanks to the narcissist down the road ca kicker in chief. Islam at the cross road either to modernize or going back to stone age under influences of Muslim Brotherhood, Shari law of Saudi Arabia, and Atomic Mullahs of Iran. The West is crossing fingers for the moderate Islamic voice in their imagination. It is like counting on Barack to save Lybia and Yemen

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Islamists are like cancer. If you do not extirpate them completely, they come back. So, go after them and leave no trace of them.

What do you call the countries that manufacture the weapons they (and others) use, the countries that fund them and the countries that bomb and destroy those countries and create a power and structure vacuum allowing these group to exist and thrive?

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"Kurds oust Islamic State fighters from Kobani"

No thanks to the Turks, who sat there on their border in their tanks and didn't lift a finger to help out.

"most of the Kurds (the good guys who won) are of Islamic faith." According to ISIS, they aren't.

"Islamists...Devastating and high profile, but thankfully rare." Are you kidding? Let me know when you can find a single 24 hour period when there weren't any Islamist attacks in the world. I won't hold my breath...

"Rare?" According to a 2013 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, 71 percent of Jordanians, 74 percent of Egyptians and 89 percent of the residents of the Palestinian Authority support enforcing Sharia law- with the emphasis on the enforcement. I guess it depends on how you define "Islamists", but "Rare?" Please try to discover for yourself what's really going on out there in the world.

http://www.pewforum.org/2013/04/30/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-beliefs-about-sharia/

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Good for the Kurds! But ISIS will be back, last but not least because of their ongoing support from Saudi, Qatar and the USA (via the aid for the so-called "vetted rebels").

Right now, ISIS is on a roll, and incredibly our politicians are actually helping them.

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Um, most of the Kurds (the good guys who won) are of Islamic faith.

Islamists are to Islam what plane crashes are to aviation. Devastating and high profile, but thankfully rare.

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Well done!

Islamists are like cancer. If you do not extirpate them completely, they come back. So, go after them and leave no trace of them.

Um, most of the Kurds (the good guys who won) are of Islamic faith.

I wish them well in future conflicts against ISIS, particularly the women (getting killed by women = no virgins for you)

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Islamists are like cancer. If you do not extirpate them completely, they come back. So, go after them and leave no trace of them.

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Bravo!

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