Monday, June 16, 2014

WTF is an ISIS?!

I've had a self-proclaimed DG political blackout going on for a while now. I don't want to get too worried/concerned/educated on political events ANYWHERE because I'm just not into it and I find it disturbing to my chi.

But when my mother called me the other night and said she was worried about me in light of events in Iraq, I was like, 'Woah, Mom!  What are you on about?' (That's actually more Irish than I said to her.)  But it was like that.

So yet another name for terrorism. Sadly, the acronym, Isis, is the Goddess of motherhood, magic, and fertility;  A mythological figure that I admire.  That's just disrespectful.  For a fundamentalist group, you would think they would have thought that through a little better.  Just sayin'

ISIS in Iraq came up just about as fast as Al-Qaeda did in 2001..... All of a sudden, dudes are all over the media.

The US started seeing some of these factions as a threat and started questioning their financing.  They even pointed a finger towards Kuwait and some of the GCC countries that were funding this cause.  See my post LINK HERE from an article published in March of this year  (ISIS has dropped the "Levant" as no one understood what it meant.)    Kuwait's own Minister of Justice was called out by the US as someone who was financing terrorism; and once again, some people in Kuwait were pissed off at the US for meddling in Kuwait and throwing out what they perceived to be false accusations.  (If their theory applies, the same people upset with "meddling" should have been upset in 1991 as well....)

I personally think that if Kuwait can find links of  Kuwaitis (ESPECIALLY senior government officials like MINISTER) to terrorism of any kind, those people should be put in jail.  Aren't those individuals working AGAINST national security/national unity??

Anyhoo, Kuwait's military today is on a "Level 3" alert - meaning that all the Kuwaiti military guys I know will be on lockdown until God-knows-when.  Damn!  Right before Ramadan too when everybody is pre-partying to the max!

Some conspiracy-theory thoughts for ya:  So why is it that the US northern border camps (like Buehring - formerly Udairi - just a hop, skip and a jump at approximately 30 miles from Iraq) have had large construction projects going on for the past few years?  Hmmm? Why is it that Kuwait has floated several border detection/barrier tenders for the past few years - and ironically, to include a complete upgrade of security to the Kuwaiti side of Udairi range?  Hmmm?  And now with KBOS3 coming up for re-bid in 2015, contractors are itchy to do something in Kuwait to support their lifestyles.  (Those contractors also include Kuwaiti companies who have made plenty o'dosh since 2003 providing support services like accommodations and contracts to the camps.)

Am I personally concerned about Kuwait?  No.

I think that Kuwait has great internal security forces. In early 2000's, there was a terrorist group here who got into a gun fight with Kuwaiti forces - in 2 locations in Kuwait. The police immediately took charge of the situation and the suspects were either shot outright or taken into custody.  Those boys (and now girls) don't play.  Since then, Kuwait has built up internal security forces and have purchased urban warfare type equipment and trained Kuwaitis.  They have a new police college and the infrastructure to take on internal combatants is now in place.  It would not be fun to be in Kuwait should these terrorists ever make it into Kuwait, but I don't think that will ever happen either.

If ISIS escalates operations in Kuwait,  no doubt that the US would step in as we (and potentially would several other foreign militaries like the UK, Canada, and Australian, that have forces on the ground in Kuwait).  Kuwait is still a FOB (forward operating base) to Iraq and there are enough resources still in Kuwait to take on whatever happens on the border (or to assist the Kuwait Army/MOI with their efforts).

That is my take today on ISIS.  Can't we all just get along?


If  you want to read more about ISIS, here are some links:

Kuwait on Level 3 Alert
Terrorism at Our Doors
Growing Concerns in Kuwait About Terrorism in Iraq
How ISIS Rampaged Towards the Capital

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

My worry would be if this develops into a sunni - shia fight with involvement from Saudi & iran getting more deeply involved.. that's the sort of conflict that could be the biggest in centuries. It would most definately affect Kuwait and I doubt americans could contain it.

Unknown said...

It seems like the answer to your question,"Can we all get along?" is no. I don't understand all this fussing and fighting. If it does develop into a Sunni-Shia fight with involvement from Saudi and Iran, I feel like Kuwait would have a lot of help from other counties, especially the USA. Hopefully, it will never come to that, but it could. To me, it would be much easier to get along with each other than all the drama, not to mention the negative effect it would have on all involved.

maxine oakley said...

thousands of women and girls are named Isis...a petition with over 30 000 signatures,,, these innocent women and girls have been left wide open to bullying and victimization,,AND THEY MUST STOP USING THIS ACRONYM..it is causing great distress and anguish to these innocent souls and their families,,,we are witnessing the desecration of a beautiful and sacred name through the complete ignorance of the media...I am here if you need help getting this very important message across,,,thankyou