Next up for ISIS destruction: Sphinx and Pyramids

originally posted by: CitizenJack
a reply to: stumason

Yes sir I'm aware.

Subtlety and sarcasm can be a dangerous cocktail around these parts. I like to live on the edge every once in a while.

Ahh, I see

Sorry chap , I genuinely did not pick up on that until I re-read it!

originally posted by: UnBreakable

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: UnBreakable

ISIS acting with impunity? Well for one the Sphinx and the Pyramids are in Egypt. Seeing as how Egypt is already bombing ISIS you are already wrong. Also, that previous link clearly shows that Egypt isn't an ally with ISIS, so ISIS would have to actually fight the Egyptian government to even GET to these landmarks. ISIS is just blowing smoke here. They will never penetrate that far into Egypt if they penetrate into the country at all.

I'm already wrong? So ISIS didn't threaten the Sphinx and Pyramids for destruction? I must've misread the article. They don't act with impunity? I must've missed the part where there was a great sense of urgency to prevent them bulldozing the ancient city of Nimrod and preserve the culture of the region.

Yes, you are wrong. They aren't acting with impunity. They are being bombed by many different countries (mostly by us though). They can threaten to blow up the Sphinx and the pyramids all day if they want, that isn't going to magically transplant them in the middle of Egypt with the bombs and capability to do it though. Like I JUST showed you, Egypt doesn't like ISIS. They aren't going to let them march into the country and just blow those landmarks up. You may also notice that Egypt is currently a stable country with the resources to actually repeal a terrorist invasion.

You know just because ISIS says they want to do something, doesn't mean they have the means or capability to do so. Why don't you try looking at their capabilities versus their desires and see if what they say is even remotely possible? Clearly the claims in the OP are borderline fantasy considering what ISIS would have to go through to carry out these desires.

originally posted by: UnBreakable

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: IShotMyLastMuse

Why does Obama need to do anything in the first place? Can't we just let the ptb in the region take care of their own problems for once?

Because apparently they aren't taking care of their own problems. ISIS is running rampant in that region.

No they aren't... ISIS is on the retreat in Syria and Iraq. What news have YOU been reading?

ISIS Is Losing in Iraq. But What Happens Next?
For ISIS, tough times as it seeks to regroup
ISIS Is Losing Its Greatest Weapon: Momentum

a reply to: Krazysh0t

I totally get what you're saying and I agree. I have always said the West is damned if they do and damned if they don't. We intervene and it's "imperialist" (Kosovo/Iraq/Afghan for example), we sit back and we're just as guilty as the people who commit the crimes (Rwanda, Bosnia for example).

I was just answering the question you posed why it should matter to the US President. To be honest, I personally think interventionism is fine - time and again it's shown that local powers are incompetent. Bring back the Empire, most of the world is not fit to govern itself

a reply to: UnBreakable

Good luck to ISIS there because it's not like there isn't already security patrolling those tourist loving wonders of the world. The Egyptian military will have no problems killing anyone trying to destroy them.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t

originally posted by: UnBreakable

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: IShotMyLastMuse

Why does Obama need to do anything in the first place? Can't we just let the ptb in the region take care of their own problems for once?

Because apparently they aren't taking care of their own problems. ISIS is running rampant in that region.

No they aren't... ISIS is on the retreat in Syria and Iraq. What news have YOU been reading?

ISIS Is Losing in Iraq. But What Happens Next?
For ISIS, tough times as it seeks to regroup
ISIS Is Losing Its Greatest Weapon: Momentum

I'm reading where they're gaining ground in Yemen and they just destroyed the ancient relics in the museum in Mosul, which I thought was in Iraq. That's what news I"VE been reading. from a source YOU provided: "the city of Mosul -- still under ISIS control -- is beginning to look vulnerable". Boy, they're really backing down there. They went into the Mosul museum and did what they wanted, unopposed.

www.theguardian.com...
www.infowars.com...://www.cnn.com/2015/01/21/politics/isis-gaining-ground-in-yemen/index.htm l

originally posted by: IShotMyLastMuse
if they get even close to doing that, and we still don't bomb them out of existence, then we just need to accept them as our rulers and stop just faking outrage.
why is nobody doing anything concrete about these idiots? can someone give me a direct answer?

I'm of the opinion Egypt will kick the crap out of them long before they ever get close.

Egypt isn't afghan or one of these sorry countries like Yemen they operate in.

Egypt is a regional power.

They can easily crush them.

a reply to: UnBreakable

I didn't say that they've lost completely. I said that they are losing. Iraq is a place where they've been for a while. They still haven't been kicked out of Iraq, so them destroying stuff in Mosul isn't surprising. They don't even have a FOOTHOLD in Egypt, let alone the ability to get so far into the country that they can destroy the Sphinx and the pyramids. If you believe they do, then you have SERIOUSLY deluded yourself on ISIS' capabilities.

a reply to: IShotMyLastMuse

C'mon now! ISIS has been elevated from a J.V. team by he-who-should-be-impeached.
Not concrete enough?

You silly warmonger.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: UnBreakable

I didn't say that they've lost completely. I said that they are losing. Iraq is a place where they've been for a while. They still haven't been kicked out of Iraq, so them destroying stuff in Mosul isn't surprising. They don't even have a FOOTHOLD in Egypt, let alone the ability to get so far into the country that they can destroy the Sphinx and the pyramids. If you believe they do, then you have SERIOUSLY deluded yourself on ISIS' capabilities.

Where did I say they are a current presence in Egypt? In my OP I was addressing a source where they were THREATENING to destroy the Sphinx and Pyramids. Do I think they will actually pull it off? No. Do I think it can be a very remote possibility? I really doubt it, but it wouldn't surprise me if one day it happened. After all, they've made good on a great majority of their threats which they have telegraphed way beforehand, whether it be beheadings, torturing, destroying property, etc. They're rarely deterred, only a weak response after the fact i.e. the dog-and-pony bombing by the King of Jordan after they burned the pilot.

a reply to: UnBreakable

Beheading some people you captured in a recent raid is a BIT different than making good on claims like in the OP. Yes, ISIS makes good on small threats like beheadings and torturing, because anyone can do that. All you need are POWs and you can carry those threats out. However, their grandiose claims have mostly turned out to just be hot air. How is their claim of uniting the Muslim world under a single caliphate going? How about their claim to behead 1 million people? Stop using their small threats as a pretext to take their stupid threats seriously.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: UnBreakable

Beheading some people you captured in a recent raid is a BIT different than making good on claims like in the OP. Yes, ISIS makes good on small threats like beheadings and torturing, because anyone can do that. All you need are POWs and you can carry those threats out. However, their grandiose claims have mostly turned out to just be hot air. How is their claim of uniting the Muslim world under a single caliphate going? How about their claim to behead 1 million people? Stop using their small threats as a pretext to take their stupid threats seriously.

You obviously are minimizing the impact of ISIS and I submit in arguing with you on that point. Let's readdress ISIS at year end and see if the threat is greater or not.

a reply to: UnBreakable

Well you and I have already discussed ISIS in great detail in previous threads. Since then, they've lost ground considerably (as I already showed you). While I'm not afraid to readdress this at year's end, I think it is reasonable to say that ISIS is on its way out.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: UnBreakable

Well you and I have already discussed ISIS in great detail in previous threads. Since then, they've lost ground considerably (as I already showed you). While I'm not afraid to readdress this at year's end, I think it is reasonable to say that ISIS is on its way out.

You might think they're on their way out, but IMO it's not a 'reasonable' conclusion.

As of March 4:
"ISIS getting stronger in Libya
Talks on boosting security 'enormous challenge'"


As of Feb. 14:
"We need to stop ISIS from getting stronger
When it was only al-Queda a former U.S. president recognized the danger and threw the substantial weight of our Military behind defeating the movement by whatever means necessary. Now we have an enemy who clearly has declared war on us but our government is trying to develop a way to frame the issue in a manner that doesn't mean we're at war. One side has declared war and devotes all of their resources to winning. The other dithers with definitions and accomplishes very little. "
www.thealpenanews.com...


As of Jan. 28:
"A small victory in Syria is no reason to celebrate as the Islamic State gets stronger"
www.washingtonpost.com... 11e4-a06b-9df2002b86a0_story.html

originally posted by: Swills
a reply to: UnBreakable

Good luck to ISIS there because it's not like there isn't already security patrolling those tourist loving wonders of the world. The Egyptian military will have no problems killing anyone trying to destroy them.

To think how ISIS could have made a lot of money from tourism alone, they could have had their State, peace and a steady income through tourism but they chose a war they can't ever win. Would they actually believe they can destroy all religious images on the planet?

a reply to: johnnyjoe1979

Yeah, they're that crazy and all of their accomplishments over the years has only fueled their crazy fires.

Please at least try it. Suicide. Note where they are active. Syria and Iraq. Look where they are NOT active. Turkey. Egypt. Iran. You know? Countries that would stomp them in about 2 days.

originally posted by: intrepid
Please at least try it. Suicide. Note where they are active. Syria and Iraq. Look where they are NOT active. Turkey. Egypt. Iran. You know? Countries that would stomp them in about 2 days.

Actually ISIS roams freely in Turkey. Turkey just accepts their presence in exchange for ISIS not committing terrorist acts in Turkey.

"Turkish Support for ISIS"

"Actually, the Turks offered far more than an easy border crossing: they provided the bulk of ISIS' funds, logistics, training and arms. Turkish residents near the Syrian border tell of Turkish ambulances going to Kurdish-ISIS battle zones and then evacuating ISIS casualties to Turkish hospitals. Indeed, a sensational photograph has surfaced showing ISIS commander Abu Muhammad in a hospital bed receiving treatment for battle wounds in Hatay State Hospital in April 2014."
www.danielpipes.org...

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Well seeing as how, even with our great military capabilities, we screw up everything that we touch I'd say that maybe we should back off for a change. You brought up how ISIS wouldn't be a presence in Iraq if it weren't for us destabilizing the place; well do you honestly think that if we went in guns blazing that the area would turn into sunshines and rainbows this time

Well put.. Nice to see a voice of reason on ATS..

Purp.