ISIS responds to U.S. threat with flashy graphics
LONDON -- The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria's propaganda machine is working on a new video which, based on a short promotional clip released Tuesday, seems likely to serve as a warning to the United States to keep its troops out of Iraq.
The 52-second "trailer" for a video entitled "Flames of War" is typically well-produced ISIS fare; high on graphics, video game-esque drama and a clear savvy for effective online communication, but lacking any detail on the threat the group would hope to pose to hypothetical U.S. ground forces in the region.
The trailer, which was removed by YouTube within 24 hours, consists of a sequence of short clips depicting what appear to be Western soldiers coming under attack on the battlefield, ISIS militants engaged in gunfights, a Humvee blowing up, and militants executing people. It will still be readily available on a host of other jihadist web forums and video sharing sites.
The clip ends with images of the White House and President Obama. Over the pictures, audio plays of President Obama saying "American combat troops will not be returning to fight in Iraq." He made the remark on Aug. 26, speaking to the annual gathering of the American Legion in North Carolina.
ISIS released the clip hours after Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee he could still request U.S. combat troops for Iraq, if President Obama's current plan to fight ISIS fails.
"To be clear, if we reach the point where I believe our advisers should accompany Iraqi troops on attacks against specific ISIL targets, I will recommend that to the president," Dempsey said, using an alternate acronym for the terror group.
Pressed for more detail by senators, Dempsey said he "would go back to the president and make a recommendation that may include the use of ground forces" if he felt it was necessary.
The extremist group has executed two American journalists, one British aid worker, and is threatening to behead another British man -- another aid worker, who went into Syria to help civilians displaced by the country's civil war.
ISIS which now bills itself as a Sunni Muslim "state," carved out a significant swath of territory in northern Iraq this summer, pushing in from its base in northeast Syria and easily overrunning Iraqi forces in heavily Sunni areas.
Since the first U.S. airstrikes against ISIS on Aug. 8, however, the group has slowly lost some key ground in the country.
The executions, and mounting concern that hundreds of Western recruits who have joined ISIS could try and stage attacks if and when they return to their home nations, brought intense pressure on Mr. Obama to take action against the militants.
The Obama administration is pushing key regional allies -- most notably Turkey, which borders both Iraq and Syria, and other Sunni Muslim-majority nations like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar -- to combat ISIS in any way they can.
In spite of Dempsey saying he could recommend putting American combat troops into the fight in Iraq, President Obama has remained adamant that it would be "a profound mistake." The president has said he will authorize U.S. airstrikes against ISIS in Syria, as and when targets become clear. There again, he's clearly ruled out the use of ground forces.