ISIS takes flight - Polidicks

[QUOTE]ISIS is training pilots at an airbase in Libya using small planes, some possibly left over from the Qaddafi regime, and at least one flight simulator in an effort experts fear could lead to aerial attacks targeting Europe, according to regional analysts. The terrorist group, which is bulking up its footprint in the chaotic north African nation even as airstrikes by Russia, the U.S. and other western allies pound its headquarters in Syria, is functioning unfettered in the Mediterranean city of Sirte. Given that Sirte is just a short flight from mainland Europe – Italy is closest of all - the development could mean ISIS is closing in on a bid to take its terrorism to a frightening new level with a multitude of high-profile potential targets within range. “We know that the jihadists are trying every means to hurt the West, and if they can blow themselves up in cars they can certainly do the same with airplanes; this wouldn’t be a great novelty and is in line with their thinking and purpose to do as much harm as possible," Col. Jacques Neriah, the retired former deputy head for assessment of Israeli Military Intelligence and an expert on North African affairs, told Fox News.com.“We’re not talking about MIG-31 or F-16 pilots," he continued. "We’re talking about very basic, rudimentary pilots who can take off in a light plane and crash themselves into the Vatican, for instance. It takes only an hour and a half to cross [the Mediterranean Sea] from Libya to Rome.” Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi told French President Francois Hollande at a meeting in Paris that "Europe must turn its attention to the militants’ rise in Libya." Reports of ISIS training pilots out of the Sirte airbase appeared earlier this week in the London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper. The paper cited a security official in Libya who said the Libyan Air Force had attempted to destroy ISIS training camps in Libya but had met with limited success, and highlighted the fact that a brand-new aircraft training simulator has been acquired by the radical Sunni terrorist organization as recently as October.Fears that ISIS may be growing close to stepping up its activities from North Africa –from where tens of thousands of migrants have successfully crossed to mainland Europe by boat over the last few years - were highlighted in a recent report presented to the United Nations Security Council. "While currently concentrated in its stronghold in Sirte, ISIL [ISIS] could seek local alliances to expand its territorial control, also entailing the risk of motivating additional foreign terrorist fighters to join the group in Libya," the Nov. 15 assessment warned. "ISIL is an evident short and long-term threat in Libya. The group is benefiting from the “appeal” and notoriety of ISIL in Iraq and in the Syrian Arab Republic.” "Libya is strategically important for ISIL, in view of its geographical location at the crossroads between the Middle East, Africa and Europe," the reported continued, noting that ISIL had declared its governance in three provinces. "However, this division does not translate into actual control of territory, but rather demonstrates the ISIL aspirational vision for its presence in Libya."A growing number of regional observers contend that in order to stop the increased presence of ISIS and many other Islamist terror groups in Libya urgent action needs to be taken. Outside of Syria and Iraq, Libya is the only country where ISIS governs territory. It has focused its efforts on Sirte, where the majority of Libya's vast oil resources are found. It already makes hundreds of millions of dollars from the oil fields it controls in Syria, but thus far is believed to have generally been unsuccessful in exporting Libyan oil. "[ISIS] tried a few months ago to send a first shipment abroad and it was confiscated by the US navy," Neriah explained. "It would appear that they are not able at this point to smuggle meaningful quantities." Huge quantities of weapons left over from the bloody fight to depose Colonel Qadaffi in 2011 continue however to find their way into terrorists' hands. Many have surfaced in Syria, Mali, and Gaza, among other places, while there is conclusive evidence that the Sinai Peninsula - scene of the downing by ISIS in October of a Russian airliner with the loss of 224 lives – is a pivotal location for the buying and selling of such weaponry knocked down to whichever terrorist organization is prepared to pay the highest price. The embattled Libyan government has been appealing for more help to assist it fending off the Islamists from its territory but thus far there appears little appetite on the part of the international community for another direct intervention in Libya, a decision that some experts believe might come back to haunt them. “Everybody is thinking about [ISIS] as a terrorist organization, but in fact this is a terrorist state. They have all the organs of a state," Dr. Neriah concluded. "In Mosul [in Iraq] alone they took about 2,500 armored personnel carriers from the Iraqi army, all brand new American equipment. During the civil war in Syria, ISIS and other jihadists have been manipulating and producing chemical weapons and reports have shown they have attacked Syrian forces with chemical means at a time when people thought it was only the regime that was doing so. So, this terrorist state has the means to train people." "If the international community doesn’t intervene militarily, either through an Arab military force or an international force, I fear the outcome in Libya might be very grim.”[/QUOTE] Source: [url]http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/12/04/isis-takes-flight-terror-group-training-pilots-at-airbase-in-libya/#[/url]

I wonder what Fox news would have turned to if ISIS wasn't on the top charts. Maybe this year would have tried reporting about the economy or something.

won't ever happen. Pretty sure US and other countries have eyes set on that base.

What scares me more is the idea that they could potentially perform an aerial strike on a European country, and that nations will exercise their sovereignty at a whim if any unknown aircraft enters, or any deviate their course --- which is the atmosphere of fear they want.

don't the US and russia have massive air superiority throughout the whole region? what do isis think they can do?

I'm sorry but no. The second one of those aircraft takes off and isn't blipped as a known nation it will get shot down.

[QUOTE=Zenreon117;49254399]I'm sorry but no. The second one of those aircraft takes off and isn't blipped as a known nation it will get shot down.[/QUOTE] It would be enough to know that they tried to get the fear gears rotating and the sensational media machine reving.

[QUOTE=Bradyns;49254379]What scares me more is the idea that they could potentially perform an aerial strike on a European country[/QUOTE] It's gonna get busted by a Raptor, Eurofighter, or a Flanker / Fullcrum before they can get close to a target worth striking.

[QUOTE=OvB;49254442]It would be enough to know that they tried to get the fear gears rotating and the sensational media machine reving.[/QUOTE] Pretty much. In pure power ISIS is obviously very far back. But what they got on their side is lack of morals and guerrilla tactics. We can shoot the plane down but "what if next time they fail to shoot it down and we die" fear will spread. Fear creates chaos and that's what ISIS is aiming. I doubt they're dumb enough to try to actually go to war military style.

Eh, the best thing they can hope for by approaching European airspace is a Hellfire missile sending them where it says on the tin... Seriously, it's swarming with drones.

[QUOTE=itisjuly;49254487]Pretty much. In pure power ISIS is obviously very far back. But what they got on their side is lack of morals and guerrilla tactics. We can shoot the plane down but "what if next time they fail to shoot it down and we die" fear will spread. Fear creates chaos and that's what ISIS is aiming. I doubt they're dumb enough to try to actually go to war military style.[/QUOTE] what benefit does chaos have for ISIS? I am pretty sure they just want muslims to radicalize and fight for them/terrorist acts to stop bombings and such. That is way more sensible then "chaos". They aren't fucking cartoon villains.

[QUOTE=Lord of Ears;49254394]don't the US and russia have massive air superiority throughout the whole region? what do isis think they can do?[/QUOTE] Kamikaze into some buildings. I honestly find it more surprising that ISIS now has a presence in Libya as well. Things are not looking up.

[QUOTE=Valiantttt;49254497]what benefit does chaos have for ISIS? I am pretty sure they just want muslims to radicalize and fight for them/terrorist acts to stop bombings and such. That is way more sensible then "chaos". They aren't fucking cartoon villains.[/QUOTE] Chaos as in paranoia, feeling unsafe, distrust in your own government and such. I'm talking about real world chaos, not cartoon chaos. Making citizens feel unsafe in their own country is a fairly big success when it comes to terrorist goals. If this causes citizens to turn on local muslims, that's even more of a plus as they will also get recruits or at least more supporters. Turning enemy on itself is a popular strategy.

These aren't Russian planes, the moment they're detected they will be shot down.

[QUOTE=Doom64hunter;49254514]Kamikaze into some buildings. I honestly find it more surprising that ISIS now has a presence in Libya as well. Things are not looking up.[/QUOTE] Isis has lost a massive amount of its territory, yeah, things aren't looking up for them.

More bombs!

[QUOTE=Lord of Ears;49254394]don't the US and russia have massive air superiority throughout the whole region? what do isis think they can do?[/QUOTE] They do but when you realize the other side wouldn't mind doing a suicide assault air superiority doesn't mean a whole lot

[QUOTE=JohnFisher89;49254889]They do but when you realize the other side wouldn't mind doing a suicide assault air superiority doesn't mean a whole lot[/QUOTE] Uh yes it does, they wont get far enough before getting blown out of the sky.

[QUOTE=itisjuly;49254527]Chaos as in paranoia, feeling unsafe, distrust in your own government and such. I'm talking about real world chaos, not cartoon chaos. Making citizens feel unsafe in their own country is a fairly big success when it comes to terrorist goals. If this causes citizens to turn on local muslims, that's even more of a plus as they will also get recruits or at least more supporters. Turning enemy on itself is a popular strategy.[/QUOTE] I see this a lot, the whole "ISIS wants everyone to turn on muslims so they get more recruits" or whatever. While this may actually be a goal of ISIS, I think this mindset is not very well thought out and is doomed to fail in the long run. Why? Look at WWII. In the US, Japanese-americans were placed in camps for fear they were spies and we all know what happened in Nazi Germany. The Nazis even fueled public support just with propaganda, rather than any actual acts, where the US also had the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor to point to. Today, there are numerous terrorists attacks to point to that are widely publicized. The leaders of the western world are--to my knowledge--refraining from fueling an anti-muslim mindset, but there are certainly those in positions of power who are pushing that point of view, as is the media to some degree. If, or perhaps more realistically as, these attacks continue and fear builds in the west, humans, being not very rational when put in such situations, will look for someone to blame and increasingly that blame is likely to be directed at not just the extremists, but muslims in general (it's already happening to some degree). If the general public opinion with regards to muslims in general continues to degrade, support for extremist actions against muslims will increase. A self-sustaining cycle will likely be entered into at some point, as muslims become more fearful or repressed, by both the governments and populations, which in turn causes more of them to--understandably--become anti-west, and so forth. "All according to ISIS's plan" perhaps you say. Here's the problem though: Where this culminates though is not with some sort of mutual destruction, but with a very one-sided campaign of destruction by the west. The campaign against ISIS by the west is very limited and constrained by important concerns such as civilian casualties. The same can be said of anti-terrorism operations within the west (with regards to concerns for the rights of individuals). If the public in general is brought to view all, or the majority of, muslims to be (potential) terrorists and thus that the middle east is basically just full of terrorists, then those constraints on military and police action are removed. All of this is hypothetical to some degree, but it has happened before many times. I posit that fundamentally we humans are no different today than we were during WWII. With enough fear and enough prodding, the mentality that enabled the massive and unnecessary loss of life then can be brought about now. More generally, what I'm saying is, if a significant amount of muslims are radicalized due to growing distrust or hatred of muslims in the west, there will be negative impacts to ISIS's goals as well. These things don't happen in isolation.

historical moment! monkeys are trying to fly aircrafts!

If everyone is aware of this air base, why not nuke it? Not literally nuke it, but tear it to shreds with missles or, at the very least, targeted missiles at stationed aircraft?

[QUOTE=SweetTea;49254988]historical moment! monkeys are trying to fly aircrafts![/QUOTE] I'd be careful of saying such things in Sweden

[QUOTE=old_hag12;49254326]I wonder what Fox news would have turned to if ISIS wasn't on the top charts. Maybe this year would have tried reporting about the economy or something.[/QUOTE] Yea, it's not like every other news organization in the world is reporting on ISIS. Bad on you fox news for reporting a very important current event.

[QUOTE=JohnFisher89;49254889]They do but when you realize the other side wouldn't mind doing a suicide assault air superiority doesn't mean a whole lot[/QUOTE] That's like a fly flying into a flyswatter city.

This is such a non threat. I wouldn't even worry about it. ISIS is dangerous because anyone anywhere could pull out a handgun and go I'M ISIS SURPRISE and start shooting a place. Hopping in a fighter jet to perform an attack is like turning lights and sirens on shouting I'M GOING TO ATTACK YOU IN THIS MANY MINUTES IN THIS SPOT

Fortunately (if you can even call it that), they've only got so many planes (Based on the article it seems to be implied that it's only a small number) to suicide bomb with and you can almost guarantee that most will either be lost due to poorly trained pilots near takeoff/during training or destroyed by airstrikes/SAMs.

[QUOTE=Lord of Ears;49254394]don't the US and russia have massive air superiority throughout the whole region? what do isis think they can do?[/QUOTE] Well presumably the idea is to try and hijack an airliner rather than some bizarre air invasion using ancient planes and barely trained pilots.

Maybe they are trying to get back to that gold standard of having an incompetent pilot that somehow manages to do a perfect descending turn to come exactly level with the [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM79QpaxvOs&feature=player_detailpage#t=240s"]pentagon budget office[/url].

[QUOTE=SweetTea;49254988]historical moment! monkeys are trying to fly aircrafts![/QUOTE] nice racism bruh.

This is bad news. Battlefield: Earth shows us all how dangerous it can be when a bunch of backwards savages find some abandoned flight simulators and fighter planes.