[ExI] beheadings etc.

[BillK]

On 24 February 2015 at 15:26, William Flynn Wallace wrote:
> Help me out here.  Although I am a psychologist I am at a loss.
>
> Randomly killing school children, adults, worshipers, beheading Christians
> and other foreigners or other sects of their religion  ......
>
> Just what message is being sent here?
> "Hey, look at us.  We behead people, kidnap children and make them carry
> guns......."
>
> What do they want us to think?  Is it
> "Look at how important these people are.  How brave, how strong.  Yes, these
> are the people I want to run my country.  Also, their religion sounds really
> wonderful if it leads to these killings"
> Or just what?
>

As Dan says, you have to be careful about propaganda intended to
demonize enemies. The claims are probably exaggerated by all parties
(for different reasons). But assuming that some atrocities have
happened --------

The cause is probably fundamentalist religious maniacs.
This applies (or used to apply) to groups attached to most other
religions as well.

There is one verse in the Quran which orders beheading in time of war.
(Similar atrocity verses can be found in the Old Testament).

Wikipedia also suggests -
ISIL is using beheadings of locals to intimidate people, including
their own soldiers, into obeying the dictates of a weak state.
Beheadings of westerners are designed to strike back at the United
Kingdom and the United States for military actions against ISIL that
they have no other way of responding to.

The violence might also act as a recruiting device for a certain type
attracted to participate in such actions.
------------


Looking at it from the other side, when a Predator drone fires a
missile the target is obliterated. But the target can include wives,
children, friends. passers-by, etc. And those on the edge of the blast
don't die immediately. They are terribly injured and burnt and die in
agony. And they all have relatives and friends.
That is why the drone campaign is described as creating more
terrorists than it kills.


BillK