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Reading Too Much Into ISIS Losses, Too Little Into Turkey

By Jeralyn, Section War In Iraq
Posted on Thu Jul 21, 2016 at 12:53:33 PM EST
Tags: ISIS, Turkey (all tags)
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There's a tendency by many to assume because ISIS is losing ground in Syria and Iraq, and its number of fighters has declined, that ISIS is a problem that will soon self-destruct.

Respected researcher and analyst Scott Atran (whose insightful articles I've quoted before) has a new article in the New York Review of Books, ISIS: The Durability of Chaos, which focuses on what to expect after these recent ISIS losses. I highly recommend reading it.

Another still relevant article co-written by Atran: Paris: The War ISIS Wants [More...]

On to Turkey: Turkey has temporarily suspended the European Convention of Human Rights.

Earlier, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the three-month state of emergency in Turkey would enable authorities to act quicker and more efficiently against the coup plotters.

Meanwhile, Mass arrests continue in Turkey following the failed coup:

As of Wednesday, some 8,660 people had been detained throughout the country — most of them members of the military. Some 15,200 Education Ministry workers, 8,777 Interior Ministry officials and 2,745 judges had been fired from their jobs, according to the government. The government has also "requested" that 1,577 university deans resign from their jobs.

Incirlik Airbase in Turkey remains shut. Yesterday there was a Twitter storm using the hashtag @closeincirlik, calling for the closure of the Turkish air base used for the coalition airstrikes. Many of the tweets contained pictures of innocent civilians and children killed in the air strikes, including their grieving survivors. It seems to be an ISIS inspired campaign, but many others have picked it up, angered by the air strikes in Syria and Iraq.

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    Reading Too Much Into ISIS Losses, Too Little Into Turkey | 1 comment (1 topical)

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    attention, Marie Harf & company (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by The Addams Family on Thu Jul 21, 2016 at 02:18:41 PM EST
    Because many foreign volunteers are marginal in their host countries, a pervasive belief among Western governments and NGOs is that offering would-be enlistees jobs or spouses or access to education could reduce violence and counter the Caliphate's pull. But a still unpublished report by the World Bank shows no reliable relationship between increasing employment and reducing violence, suggesting that people with such opportunities are just as likely to be susceptible to jihadism. When I asked one World Bank representative why this was not published, he responded, "Our clients [that is, governments] wouldn't like it because they've got too much invested in the idea."

    Reading Too Much Into ISIS Losses, Too Little Into Turkey | 1 comment (1 topical)

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