ISIS an 'Incredible' Fighting Force, US Special Ops Sources Say

[TankMan]

To me it appears that they are made of a strong, combined force. People from here and there joined up with them, many of them trained by the US or NATO (or Israel). ISIS slowly became a "soldier magnet", since there are hundreds of thousands of people willing to join up because of all the instability in the region. While the members of the Republican Guard or Fedayeen have become old now, As Aeronaut said, they could be the officers behind the whole operation.

Its possible that ISIS has turned into something the US didn't expect it would, or maybe its all part of the plan.

 

[Kompromat]

Those planners are in Syria, Al Raqqa, the safer area for important ISIS individuals.

Such an op requires a lot of intel/recon from satellites as well, the US could do that, ISOF lacks the info.

No, what you need is HI. (Human Intel), that too has to be actionable.

ISI doesn't have any recon sats, not at least the ones we know of as they may have access to them through a 3rd party. Its strength is HI, its ability to embed its assets inside the hostile acting groups and to take out HVTs when they need to. Our operations against TTP have been focused on tracking and killing the top and mid tier leadership of TTP. Sometimes through American drone strikes, PAF's airstrikes and most of the time through physical intervention by ISI's own fighting unit which i cannot name here. Once this objective is achieved, the leadership went into disarray, rarely came out which hampered their operational ability as well as demoralized its fighters, since the leadership itself was scared of getting one in the head.

2nd tier of the strategy was targeted night ops, 3rd, tracking and killing extortion cells which feed the system through urban areas, 4th physical intervention i.e Op Zarb-e-Azb which is underway right now.

In other words, if Iraq wants a credible and potent COIN strategy, it needs a multilayered strategy, specifically designed and executed to attain strategic results with appropriate use of force, propaganda, narrative management and winning its own population over to its side.

 

[Falcon29]

We're hearing a lot about how well-trained they are. What we need to know is where they've been trained. Even the Americans are complimenting them.

They aren't that well trained. Reports of these kinds are meant to justify further military action or upcoming military action. Same thing Israel does to the Palestinians it has in an open air prison. They release reports of 'enormous', 'destructive' , 'existential threat' coming from the Palestinians and that they must destroy all civilian infrastructure of Gaza now. Then, of course, you see massive devastation of civilian infrastructure in Gaza that is intentional in order to keep all Palestinians on brink of collapse or under complete Israeli control.

 

[Hiptullha]

Beginning of the end, really??? Can we remain rational while dealing with a bunch of brutal religious nutjobs that we have seen in the past many many times (heck many of you named after em!) and deal with them at a human level pls?

Terrorist Organizations have been talking about a shariah state for years, but have never put their words into action, except for the Taliban.
Now we're seeing a militant force which is capable of facing an army and has put plans of a state into use.
I'm not as worried about ISIS as I am of the American reaction.
We've seen what? Terror attacks and bomb blasts?
Remember the American response to 9/11? A "War on Terror" which crippled several countries. How do you think they will respond to an Islamic State?

 

[syedali73]

Terrorist Organizations have been talking about a shariah state for years, but have never put their words into action, except for the Taliban.
Now we're seeing a militant force which is capable of facing an army and has put plans of a state into use.
I'm not as worried about ISIS as I am of the American reaction.
We've seen what? Terror attacks and bomb blasts?
Remember the American response to 9/11? A "War on Terror" which crippled several countries. How do you think they will respond to an Islamic State?

US/Europe/Israeli plan is to keep all the countries that are next to Israel either controlled through the puppet regimes (KSA/Kuwait/UAE/Egypt/Jordan) or to get them destroyed through sectarian violence/civil war (Iraq, Syria). Now how long this will continue, perhaps for quite some time but not for ever, since this is not natural. Everything that falls down is bound to rises back, and everything that rises up is destined to fall back.

 

[The SC]

This appears to be a well-planned propaganda from the American/allies. If you look back, they (and the media that support them) have always inflated the capabilities of their supposedly enemy to win the public support and justify the use of massive military power. It is just another round of the American/allies onslaught, part of their continued crusade. First they support these elements, allow them to become into some kind of a force to reckon with, and then wage war against them. Nothing but an interesting way to keep their massive arms industry alive.

Yes, but it is also politically and media-wise motivated, since afterwards, only the US will be perceived as the only one capable of dealing with them militarily, and justify some kind of intervention like the air-strikes they have initiated in Iraq Again. It looks and sounds like it is being coordinated somehow, since the US needed only that beheading of a one of its citizens to intervene, and that reason was given to it by none other than this ISIS!!!!

US/Europe/Israeli plan is to keep all the countries that are next to Israel either controlled through the puppet regimes (KSA/Kuwait/UAE/Egypt/Jordan) or to get them destroyed through sectarian violence/civil war (Iraq, Syria). Now how long this will continue, perhaps for quite some time but not for ever, since this is not natural. Everything that falls down is bound to rises back, and everything that rises up is destined to fall back.

It is a Yo-Yo kind of thing. The game is much bigger, you summarized it well but not well enough, a lot of behind the scene actors, their motivations and their aims are to be taken into account in a historical perspective.

 

[notorious_eagle]

No, what you need is HI. (Human Intel), that too has to be actionable.

ISI doesn't have any recon sats, not at least the ones we know of as they may have access to them through a 3rd party. Its strength is HI, its ability to embed its assets inside the hostile acting groups and to take out HVTs when they need to. Our operations against TTP have been focused on tracking and killing the top and mid tier leadership of TTP. Sometimes through American drone strikes, PAF's airstrikes and most of the time through physical intervention by ISI's own fighting unit which i cannot name here. Once this objective is achieved, the leadership went into disarray, rarely came out which hampered their operational ability as well as demoralized its fighters, since the leadership itself was scared of getting one in the head.

2nd tier of the strategy was targeted night ops, 3rd, tracking and killing extortion cells which feed the system through urban areas, 4th physical intervention i.e Op Zarb-e-Azb which is underway right now.

In other words, if Iraq wants a credible and potent COIN strategy, it needs a multilayered strategy, specifically designed and executed to attain strategic results with appropriate use of force, propaganda, narrative management and winning its own population over to its side.

You are asking too much from them.

The fall of Mosul and the rout of Iraqi forces without a single bullet fired is proof enough they lack the discipline and competence to carry out meaningful defensive battles let alone offer offensive battles. What your describing can only be carried out by a seasoned disciplined fighting forces which the Iraqi Army is not. The Iraqi Army of the 1980's would have been able to accomplish this, but not this Iraqi Army.

Despite overwhelming advantage in terms of numbers and equipment, the Iraqi Army broke down and abandoned their positions. The structure came down crumbling because it was rotten to the core in my opinion. They lack the leadership and the Officer Core to guide them and carry forward. Their Officers were the main culprits whom instead of organizing defence of the cities, simply abandoned their uniforms an ran away. It appears that political meddling in the Armed Forces has degraded their fighting capability to the point where it cannot even offer battle to a Light Armed Infantry Group. It will take years if not decades for them to effectively regroup and rebuild this institution.

 

[notsuperstitious]

Terrorist Organizations have been talking about a shariah state for years, but have never put their words into action, except for the Taliban.
Now we're seeing a militant force which is capable of facing an army and has put plans of a state into use.
I'm not as worried about ISIS as I am of the American reaction.
We've seen what? Terror attacks and bomb blasts?
Remember the American response to 9/11? A "War on Terror" which crippled several countries. How do you think they will respond to an Islamic State?

I hope effectively. Because without the US arab states will collapse against isis. Because muslims are too confused when it comes to taking on religious radicals.

 

[SarthakGanguly]

This appears to be a well-planned propaganda from the American/allies. If you look back, they (and the media that support them) have always inflated the capabilities of their supposedly enemy to win the public support and justify the use of massive military power. It is just another round of the American/allies onslaught, part of their continued crusade. First they support these elements, allow them to become into some kind of a force to reckon with, and then wage war against them. Nothing but an interesting way to keep their massive arms industry alive.

No actually in this case the ISIS deserves the credit(!) I have seen some of their combat footage. They keep war correspondents for propaganda purposes and the way they fight is similar to that of the conventional forces. The covering fire, the support fire, appropriate use of mortars, effecting a breach, cutting supply lines, advancing across smokescreen etc. This force is disciplined, motivated and effective.

 

[Cheetah786]

This appears to be a well-planned propaganda from the American/allies. If you look back, they (and the media that support them) have always inflated the capabilities of their supposedly enemy to win the public support and justify the use of massive military power. It is just another round of the American/allies onslaught, part of their continued crusade. First they support these elements, allow them to become into some kind of a force to reckon with, and then wage war against them. Nothing but an interesting way to keep their massive arms industry alive.

BINGO

After the collapse of Russia as super power, American Military industry cannot survive without enemy to fight.

So they create One Now

Mujahedin = Taliban

FSA= ISIS

 

[JonAsad]

US/Europe/Israeli plan is to keep all the countries that are next to Israel either controlled through the puppet regimes (KSA/Kuwait/UAE/Egypt/Jordan) or to get them destroyed through sectarian violence/civil war (Iraq, Syria). Now how long this will continue, perhaps for quite some time but not for ever, since this is not natural. Everything that falls down is bound to rises back, and everything that rises up is destined to fall back.

100% correct-
The US is looking for justifications to target them with full might- which is not bad at all-
Amrikan strategy 101-

 

[SQ8]

hat we have seen in the past many many times (heck many of you named after em!) and deal with them at a human level pls?

I will not tolerate ANYMORE religious flaming from you. This is your final warning.

 

[Pak_Sher]

After I see all this, we were better off with Saddam