The following report is a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On September 23, 2014, the Islamic State (IS) released another part in the series titled “Lend Me Your Ears” featuring British hostage John Cantlie speaking about the U.S.-led assault on the organization.
For the first installment in the series, see: http://www.memri.org/legacy/jttm/islamic-state-is-release-part-i-in-video-series-featuring-imprisoned-british-journalist-john-cantlie-who-says-he-will-be-revealing-facts-and-truths-about-is-and-western-media-campaigns-against-it
Cantlie begins his message by quoting a text written by former CIA officer Michael Scheuer who claimed the U.S. does not have a coherent policy in its war against IS. He says that the U.S. is “tap dancing around the issues, in an ‘we’re getting involved, but we’re not really getting involved’ kind of way”, calling the U.S. effort “an ill-advised foray.” Cantlie went on to say that the “insults” from U.S. politicians “don’t do much harm to the most powerful jihadist movement seen in recent history.” He quotes Western officials who criticized their governments for underestimating the threat from IS or failing to understand it. Cantlie quotes U.S. President Obama saying that the current attack on IS is not equilvelant to the Iraq war, adding “indeed, it’s far more complicated and prone to failure.”
Cantlie called the U.S.’s effort against IS “a circus”, and said the U.S. underestimated its opponent’s fighting zeal. He added that “current estimates of 15,000 troops needed to fight the Islamic state are laughably low. The State has more mujahideen than this. And this is not some undisciplined outfit with a few Kalashnikovs.”
Source: Shumoukh Al-Islam, September 23, 2014.
