The two articles that I looked at are What ISIS Really Wants and New ISIS Propaganda Video May Feature Latest American Recruit. These are two very different articles with ISIS being the common denominator. In the first, I found information about ISIS’ objectives and the means it uses to reach them. ISIS follows a strict interpretation of the Qur’an which includes executions, crucifixion and slavery. The group considers anybody who is not a Salafist(about 20 million people) an apostate whom they then execute. Executions are not only reserved for apostates but to heads of state who threaten ISIS’ power control. Christians are suppose to be immune from persecution as long as they admit to defeat in the holy war and pay a tax called jizya. Their young leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is the self-proclaimed caliph and if true, would be the first in centuries. Even with this self-proclamation, he is widely supported by other legitimate groups as being the true caliph. As the true caliph, Baghdadi plans to execute the prophecy of Muhammed in the Qur’an which includes purging, and an apocalypse that is to be started by waging jihad. So far Baghdadi has been quite successful but seems to be folding under pressure with recent deaths of high profile members. He has also been successful in recruiting members.

This magnetic ideology that ISIS professes has caught the attention of many around the world. ISIS has recruited members from all walks of life and this includes college students, professionals, former military personnel from all over Europe and the Arab World, and people who just seem to be looking for purpose in the world. An example of the diversity within ISIS can be shown in the ranks alone. ISIS has field commanders that originate from Georgia of the former USSR, Tunisia, Yemen, Iraq, Egypt and many other Arab countries. An American has yet to make to the upper ranks but there have been numerous reports of American dying in battle while fighting for ISIS. In the second article, ISIS propaganda, it informed of a high ranking ISIS field officer named, Omar al-Shasani (Omar the Chechen), who is a formally trained Russo-Georgian. He was a Sargent in the military there, fought in wars and had apparently been helping Russian rebels in battle from a young age. This diversity is something that should be monitored as it could be detrimental to society as a whole. If more people continue be recruited then more people will attracted to it. In my opinion this will be especially true for the disaffected who have nothing to lose and who have a vendetta against society.

Two articles that I read and will be comparing are ISIS In Libya: How Powerful Is Militant Group’s Franchise?, and ISIS Uses Intelligence to Purge Opponents. The ISIS in Libya article was very interesting because of all the different variables involved. Not only do you have the invasion of ISIS but also a split government, the preexisting  militant group(Ansar al-Shariah), and a rogue general. Another fact to note is that the leader ISIS sent to rule in western Libya is Tunisian. Could it be that Tunisia’s revolution was aided by ISIS and that they have some sort of control there also. If so, then ISIS is a forced to be reckon with. In the article it stated that ISIS already had 400 Tunisian and Yemini militants in the city of Sirte. Another connection from the class that I found in this reading was that ISIS is now  recruiting al-Qaeda members versus fighting them like in Iraq and Syria. My question is, could these same al-Qaeda Libyans be ones that were oppressed by Moammar Gaddafi in Benghazi ? Could it be, that the hate Moammar Gaddafi bread within his country is still around? My answer would be yes. Something else that caught my attention was that the elected Libyan government has no control over power or resources. If that’s the case, then who does?

The ISIS intelligence article was very enlightening. It went into great detail about how ISIS operates and the tactics it uses when occupying new territory. ISIS’ intelligence is, well…intelligent. Many high profile security officers from the previous regime have joined ISIS and are now giving their valued experience to the organization.  According to the article, one of the intelligence apparatus’ most important job is to find enemies of the regime and eliminate them immediately so that no outsider can infiltrate the organization. This is based off of the extreme Salfist belief that the land should be purged of any opposition. The people they purge against include anybody who opposes them, especially tribal sheikhs that are in cahoots with governments and Awakening movement members who have fought against jihadist groups. So the question is, how many influential people have they killed and who are they? Well, it seems to me that ISIS is weak and scared. They are losing leaders daily and are beginning to tighten their grip in the upper levels of leadership. This can mean two things; there is in-fighting within ISIS or heavy pressure is being put on them by other intelligence agencies who are picking off ISIS leaders one by one.  Either way they are definitely trying to show there power by with the beheading of 20 Christians and its invasion of Libya. Or maybe they are showing their weakness and that their stronghold in Iraq and Syria may not be so strong anymore, so they are now attempting to cover new areas in new ways.

Two things that I recently posted on Diigo talk about the 2012 Benghazi terror attack on the American Embassy. Among those killed was high profile U.S. ambassador, J. Christopher Stevens. I chose to look up Benghazi because of the discussion we had about the Libyan revolution in class and its impact. The first article that I read came from April 2, 2014, which is almost two years after the attack. The thing that caught my attention was the fact that the attacks were coming out of Benghazi and not Tripoli. In our reading for the week, it talked about Benghazi being a place that has groomed activist and revolutionaries for decades, many of whom made it to the upper echelon of al Qaeda. This came to the fore front after the 2012 attack which happened to come on the 11 year anniversary of 9/11. Many U.S. officials, including former CIA director Mike Morell, strongly believe that the attacks were Benghazi Islamists with ties to al Qaeda. I find it intersting that no matter who the leadership of the country is, these radical groups still seem to have vendettas against society.

The second article that I read about was written Oct. 18, 2012, only 1 month after the U.S. Embassy attack. This is an article highlighted more evidence that al Qaeda was behind the attack. In the article it discusses a group called Ansar Al Sharia which is based out of Benghazi. The leader of this group, Abu Safian bin Qumu has strong ties to al Qaeda trainings camps and Bin Laden. It reaffirms everything that our readings have talked about. Oppression by Gaddafi only made these radical Islamists stronger and more radical. It is now the American citizens and global citizens that must pay the price for misconstrued ideologies.