Super-villains on the run?
by digby
It’s fashionable to think that ISIS is an invading army of super-villains who have their eyes set on taking over the world, especially America, and will probably succeed unless we declare a world war immediately. But shockingly, that may actually be a misconception. In fact, it may be that ISIS is better at making snuff videos than warmaking. (Sorry, Huckleberry.)
This piece from Zach Beauchamp at Vox spells it out:
It’s certainly true that ISIS remains a terrible and urgent threat to the Middle East. The group is not on the verge of defeat, nor is its total destruction guaranteed. But, after months of ISIS expansion and victories, the group is now being beaten back. It is losing territory in the places that matter. Coalition airstrikes have hamstrung its ability to wage offensive war, and it has no friends to turn to for help. Its governance model is unsustainable and risks collapse in the long run.
Unless ISIS starts adapting, there’s a very good chance its so-called caliphate is going to fall apart.
Now, that is not going to be what the hawks want to hear. Neither are the timorous Dems who will try to deflect the inevitable attacks on their patriotism by getting out front on the warmongers likely to listen. The media will put their fingers in their ears and sing la-la-la-la-la rather than do anything to interfere with their pumped up war ratings. (Right now I’m watching MSNBC breathless flog a story called “Threatened in America” … oy.)
So who knows if the war drums can be muffled by the bad news that ISIS may be losing their war? But the rest of us should at least be alert to the possibility that these monsters might not be quite as formidable as certain people want them to be. Reality based community and all that …
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