War against ISIS

[Gelsemium]

Those are impressive pieces of war equipment, no surprise they are making such a fuss around the world, they are well equipped and anyone wanting to face them need to have the best equipment as well.

 

[Aree Wongwanlee]

they are well equipped

There is no doubt that they are well-equipped. However they are mainly equipped with secondhand weapons. They are just using whatever they can lay their hands on. Secondhand weapons are not an unlimited stock. Eventually, they will run out of weapons which they can take from the people they defeat. Eventually, they will not be able to defeat everyone they meet. For example, when they face the Peshmerga, they are not able to just walk in and take the weapons.

 

[weepforsweep]

They would be tough to face for weak armies. They need to been taken out before they grow too big.

 

[Aree Wongwanlee]

They would be tough to face for weak armies. They need to been taken out before they grow too big.

Agreed. The Daesh must be stopped. Now. And more importantly, we must remove the kind of thinking which led to the emergence of the Daesh. As long as their ideology is alive, they cannot never be totally eliminated.

 

[Gelsemium]

There is no doubt that they are well-equipped. However they are mainly equipped with secondhand weapons. They are just using whatever they can lay their hands on. Secondhand weapons are not an unlimited stock. Eventually, they will run out of weapons which they can take from the people they defeat. Eventually, they will not be able to defeat everyone they meet. For example, when they face the Peshmerga, they are not able to just walk in and take the weapons.

The main issue here Aree is that they always seem to be getting new or used equipment, so they have to be financed by someone or else they would not be able to continue this war.

 

[Brandon K]

ISIS has a lot of sympathizers...muslims with money and those spread through the Middle East. That is a lot of weaponry for a small militia type force they have...just a travesty all around.

 

[Aree Wongwanlee]

The main issue here Aree is that they always seem to be getting new or used equipment, so they have to be financed by someone or else they would not be able to continue this war.

I think you are right. The Daesh does have supporters in the region and elsewhere in the world. This is something which the US can do something about. It's not easy but, if they put their minds to it, they can actually follow the money trail and find out where it leads to. Most likely they are already doing that.

 

[Falcon29]

The main issue here Aree is that they always seem to be getting new or used equipment, so they have to be financed by someone or else they would not be able to continue this war.

This is not the case. Syria and Iraq have abundance of small arms. That is enough for multiple years. ISIS largely relies on small arms/suicide attacks. The issue is that they seem to have access to material to create these suicide bombs and car bombs. There is also black market for small arms sales in that region. So a nation can't be behind it.

 

[Aree Wongwanlee]

So a nation can't be behind it.

Maybe not one nation. Most probably a lot of nations. I did read that the situation there is very much a war fought by proxies. There are countries there which are against each other, ideologically, like the Shias vs the Sunnis. So the Shia countries are arming one side while the Sunni countries are arming the other side. Covertly, of course.

 

[Gelsemium]

This is not the case. Syria and Iraq have abundance of small arms. That is enough for multiple years. ISIS largely relies on small arms/suicide attacks. The issue is that they seem to have access to material to create these suicide bombs and car bombs. There is also black market for small arms sales in that region. So a nation can't be behind it.

I would not be so sure about it. Sure, I agree that to do a terrorist war it's not necessary much equipment, but either cases they have modern war equipment.

 

[Falcon29]

Maybe not one nation. Most probably a lot of nations. I did read that the situation there is very much a war fought by proxies. There are countries there which are against each other, ideologically, like the Shias vs the Sunnis. So the Shia countries are arming one side while the Sunni countries are arming the other side. Covertly, of course.

No doubt there is proxy war going on. At a time they didn't mind where weapons went to. Today they do and have largely ended arms shipments. But there is still black market which is biggest source.

 

[Aree Wongwanlee]

Today they do and have largely ended arms shipments.

That can only affect arms shipments from certain countries. Like you said, there is a thriving black market in arms. Rich supporters can afford to buy these arms and send them to the groups they support.

 

[tournique]

Looks like someone has left behind a lot of lethal weapons in the hands of people who abandon the weapons at the slightest sign of danger. Or did the ISIS buy those weapons?

A lot of weapons were left behind Iraqi army possibly from raided military bases.

 

[TheSilentKid]

Wow, that is an impressive arsenal for ISIS to possess. Not to mention the fact that they also have the financial capability to buy additional or newer weaponry. I agree that this must be stopped as early as now before things escalate much further.

 

[petesede]

The problem is training. If I gave you a T72 tank today, how many months would it take you to learn how to use it? How long til you were even a fraction as proficient with it as a real soldier. These are uneducated people with little chance to ´practice´ with their new equipment. They will be sitting ducks against even a 3rd world army.

And that doesn´t even include maintenance and repairs that need to happen to that equipment over the next year. This is all photo-op stuff, nothing more. The only thing ISIS can effectively do is scare and kidnap civilians.