Has ISIS reached the tipping point?

[ljbab728]

It seems this event may have finally turned the majority of Muslims and Middle Eastern countries against them. The west has long been aghast at their atrocities but now the Middle East seems to be joining.

Anger, grief in Mideast at IS killing of Jordanian pilot

Caution about watching all of this graphic video,

WARNING, EXTREMELY GRAPHIC VIDEO: ISIS burns hostage alive| Latest News Videos | Fox News

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Jordan says IS can be defeated; uproar over burn video | News OK

Even a prominent preacher with close links to jihadi groups said Islamic State militants miscalculated if they hoped the images of the pilot's agony would galvanize greater opposition to a U.S.-led military coalition that has been bombing targets of the group.

"After millions of Muslims were cursing every pilot (in the coalition), with this act, they (IS) have made the burned one into a symbol," Abdullah al-Muhaysni, a Saudi sheik, wrote on his Twitter account.

[Chadanth]

Can the territory in Iraq be retaken? Yes. In Syria? Probably not anytime soon. Can they be completely defeated? No. It's an idea, and an organization. We've been at "war" with Al Qaeda for 13+ years (bin Laden was indicted in 1999) but they're still around.

[Urbanized]

John McCain was right when he said we should (have) stay(ed) in Iraq for 100 years. Whether or not you agree with the reasons behind the Iraq invasion and war is immaterial; we owed those people (the millions of decent citizens of Iraq), that region and our own national security a MacAurthur-style reconstruction.

He was obviously despicable, but Saddam's iron fist provided stability in an otherwise-unstable place. We took the lid off, so it was up to us to help build a modern, moderate society there, and to provide security in the interim. Part of that involves staring down radical governments and groups nearby. We failed. On purpose. Just because it was popular to do so back home. Popular is not always (or even usually) the same thing as right. Statesmen understand this; politicians do not. Or even worse, they don't care.

Historians will judge more harshly the decision to withdraw from Iraq than the do the decision to go there in the first place.

[Chadanth]

John McCain was right when he said we should (have) stay(ed) in Iraq for 100 years. Whether or not you agree with the reasons behind the Iraq invasion and war is immaterial; we owed those people (the millions of decent citizens of Iraq), that region and our own national security a MacAurthur-style reconstruction.

He was obviously despicable, but Saddam's iron fist provided stability in an otherwise-unstable place. We took the lid off, so it was up to us to help build a modern, moderate society there, and to provide security in the interim. Part of that involves staring down radical governments and groups nearby. We failed. On purpose. Just because it was popular to do so back home. Popular is not always (or even usually) the same thing as right. Statesmen understand this; politicians do not. Or even worse, they don't care.

Historians will judge more harshly the decision to withdraw from Iraq than the do the decision to go there in the first place.

I'm not sure I agree. You can lose an insurgency pretty quickly, and once lost, it's virtually impossible to get it back. Did we lack commitment in Vietnam? Did the Brits or Russians lack resources in India or Afghanistan? It's about systems of order, legitimacy of the indigenous government, and protection of local populations. We failed on all of those measures, right off the bat. We barely put down a relatively small AQ in Iraq insurgency, and it took 130,000 troops and an insane amount of money. There's no way we could have sustained that fight for another decade, let alone 100 years. I said when I left Iraq in 2004, it's going to get way, way worse before it gets better, and this may not even be the worst we see.