This guy watches Daesh videos so you don't have to.
February 15, 2017 5:30 AM   Subscribe

 
This is really interesting, thanks. The up-armoured vehicles are very Mad Max/Warhammer 40k Ork.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 5:39 AM on February 15, 2017


This reminded me of perhaps one of the most evil lines ever uttered by a fictional villain, film or TV.

"They call it a 'suicide vest.' But I think that undersells all the homicide it creates."
- Brother Cavil, BSG
posted by prepmonkey at 6:58 AM on February 15, 2017 [5 favorites]


I found it interesting that they paint logos on their vehicles, then carefully blur them out in images.
posted by Death and Gravity at 7:27 AM on February 15, 2017


I'd love to actually read up on this, but, given the current political climate in the US, I'm not sure I want such a thing in my browser history.
posted by tobascodagama at 8:35 AM on February 15, 2017 [1 favorite]


"There is no shortage of people willing to blow themselves up either, with some inside IS even complaining about ‘nepotistic waiting lists’ for SVBIED operations."

Grotesque.
posted by Grimp0teuthis at 8:52 AM on February 15, 2017 [3 favorites]


reminds this 80's child of the creations that happened when they locked the A-team in a barn with a welder.
posted by danjo at 12:36 PM on February 15, 2017


"There is no shortage of people willing to blow themselves up either, with some inside IS even complaining about ‘nepotistic waiting lists’ for SVBIED operations."

Grotesque.


Just to put that into a little more context, suicide bombers' families get large cash payouts.
posted by Etrigan at 12:51 PM on February 15, 2017 [3 favorites]


Despite the logical part of my brain knowing that I don't have to worry about VBIEDS while driving to work in the suburbs, I still sometimes find myself casting a wary eye toward the seemingly out of place car with a low suspension on the side of the road. My hands grip the steering wheel a little bit tighter, and that old familiar feeling of hyper-alertness/fear/adrenaline washes over me, not by too much these days and usually not at all. But occasionally it's enough that I'm halfway to calling out the 3D's (distance, description, direction) to the gunner before I remember he isn't there.

Anyway, these things are awful and I long for peace, in all meanings of the word.
posted by Man Bites Dog at 6:56 PM on February 15, 2017 [5 favorites]


This is a really interesting article and the images are compelling.
posted by Dip Flash at 10:40 PM on February 15, 2017 [1 favorite]


I would have thought that suicide missions are really expensive for the people sending them, and that using them is a sign of desperation. But today I learned that IS has so many volunteers for suicide missions that they literally have a waiting list. I just can't understand it.
posted by Joe in Australia at 12:52 AM on February 16, 2017


TBH that was a stand-out point for me. That said, I'm an atheist. If someone really believes paradise is a short drive into a berm away, why wouldn't they queue?
posted by pompomtom at 3:22 AM on February 16, 2017


I would have thought that suicide missions are really expensive for the people sending them, and that using them is a sign of desperation.

They are, and it is. But there's nothing else that currently works as reliably against the technology that a national military can bring to bear, if you're not also (backed by) a national military yourself.
posted by Etrigan at 5:56 AM on February 16, 2017 [3 favorites]


I'd wonder about 'expensive'. If you have the volunteers then a hilux, some steel plate and some ANFO wouldn't be too hard to source. More effective offensively than a squad or two of irregulars who need ammunition and food. I don't have a source handy but I gather 7.62mm rounds go for over US$1 a pop in Northern Syria and Iraq (though I think that was in Rojava - Daesh presumably have tonnes of ex-SAA ammunition).

The converted BMPs, on the other hand...
posted by pompomtom at 10:20 PM on February 16, 2017


« Older My dog sniffs at it and then runs headlong into a...   |   Finally, Trainers, FINALLY Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments