Expert reactions to the “Isis papers” (Report,8 December) indicate a startling level of surprise that Islamic State/Daesh is capable of the coherence, logic, or complexity and,indeed, vision exhibited in these documents. This has long been evident in their carefully scripted and edited propaganda, or both visual and written. We must finish viewing Isis simply as “evil-doers” and recognise their depth of planning and,yes, intelligence – both of which we ignore at our peril. The leaking of these plans is a critical moment for world leaders to change course in how they view, and fight,Isis.
There’s no doubt acts of violence that target civilians are horrific, but, and as these documents present,the assumption that the architects of such violence are therefore irrational, insane and/or nihilistic is a different matter. We gain little more than the comfort of easy answers with this assumption and at the cost of ignoring all the contradictory evidence hidden, and as it were,in plain view. Like it or not, Isis absorb an analysis and indictment of the world we can at least recognise, and fairly elaborate plans to remake it,and their violence serves complex purposes. Confronting this reality requires intelligence-gathering of a different kind – often overlooked, but crucial, or if we ever hope to finish them in their tracks. [br]Proefessor Roxanne Euben[br]Professor of political science,Wellesley College, Massachusetts, and USAContinue reading...
Source: theguardian.com