February 4, 2015 | Quote

New Video Overshadows IS Obsession With Kobani, Possible Flaws


Photos and video of Jordanian Air Force pilot Muath al-Kaseasbeh being burned alive at the hands of his Islamic State captors had U.S. officials searching for words, trying to describe another act of violence committed by a group that has continually found a way to shock the Western world.

But to those who have been closely following Islamic State, neither the level of violence nor the resulting drama is much of a surprise. Instead, it fits the pattern of a group that has acted with brutal effectiveness, while at the same time exposing potential weaknesses.

“Their priorities right now are really focused on burnishing their image to try to get themselves over that hump, to eclipse al-Qaida in the world of jihadism,” said Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Fostering and maintaining that image may be all the more important now, he said, “to make sure people are still flocking to and joining them despite the losses they’re incurring in Iraq and in Syria.”

But none of that stopped Islamic State from continuing to pursue Kobani, continually sending in more fighters and supplies, presenting ample targets for U.S. and coalition warplanes.

For some, such a strategy is a sign that Islamic State’s weaknesses are beginning to surface.

“The likeliest explanation for why they keep pouring in resources even though it's so costly to try to take Kobani is the leader of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is personally invested in taking that territory. So, even though it doesn’t make strategic sense, they keep on trying,” Gartenstein-Ross said.

Since the start of U.S. airstrikes, more than 4,000 foreign fighters have flocked to Syria and Iraq, with many joining Islamic State.

“That in itself is significant and a problem, because the Islamic State is very dependent upon foreign fighters,” said the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Daveed Gartenstein-Ross. “I think that there are signs, that in terms of their core numbers and zealous fighters for their cause, that they actually are strained but they’re making up for the reduced numbers.”

Read full article here.

Issues:

Syria