新聞來源：蘋果日報頭條要聞 2014 年 8 月 21 日
彰顯殘忍
美國記者佛里慘遭伊斯蘭國（IS）割頭謀殺，再度證明這個組織是一個多麼嗜血，著迷於「復古殘暴」的宗教狂徒。
挖敵人心臟啃咬
伊斯蘭國前身是恐怖組織「基地」的分支，基地與其徒子徒孫早在各地都樂於用「殺頭」方式對付俘虜、人質與記者，因為這是他們心中伊斯蘭傳統律法所規定的處刑方式。但與穆斯林國家用長刀砍頭的作法不同，恐怖組織更愛用短刀從喉前一寸寸割下受害者頭顱，彰顯殘忍。二ＯＯ二年遭「基地」綁匪殺頭的《華爾街日報》記者波爾（Daniel Pearl），就是在鏡頭前被小刀一寸寸割斷脖子。
伊斯蘭國更進一步推展各種古老的血腥作法，聲稱教義就是要用這些殘忍手段虐殺異教徒與「叛教者」，例如活埋分屍雅茲迪教徒，綁架雅茲迪婦女為奴，至今恐已有逾三千名雅茲迪婦孺被擄，恐淪為性奴。在伊斯蘭國位於敘利亞的大本營拉卡，街頭可見受害者頭顱被插在木樁或鐵柵上示眾，還有你以為只有《聖經》時代才會出現的釘十字架酷刑。伊斯蘭國指揮官還會在戰場上挖敵人心臟出來啃咬。
反映出扭曲心態
伊斯蘭國首領巴格達迪（Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi）自稱是先知穆罕默德的後代，欲建立歷史書中才有的「哈里發」國。這群狂徒想要復興古代鼎盛的伊斯蘭帝國，但熱中的卻是古老的暴力形式，這些作法已被現代的穆斯林拋棄。割頭暴行反映出巴格達迪與其狂徒扭曲「復古」心態的一端。（編譯陳家齊）
作者：Frida Ghitis
新聞來源：CNN August 20, 2014 -- Updated 1732 GMT (0132 HKT)
Editor's note: Frida Ghitis is a world affairs columnist for
The Miami Herald and World Politics Review. A former CNN producer and
correspondent, she is the author of "The End of Revolution: A Changing
World in the Age of Live Television." Follow her on Twitter@FridaGhitis. The
opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) -- American journalist James Foley was murdered, beheaded by
an English-speaking member of ISIS, the extremist group that calls itself the
Islamic State and has already conquered large swaths of two Middle Eastern
countries. The sickening execution, recorded
and released online for the world to see, came with a warning to the U.S.:
ISIS showed another captive American journalist, believed to be Steven Sotloff,
and threatened to kill him too if the U.S. does not stop helping those fighting
to stop ISIS advances.
The killing and the threat, along with all
the evidence ISIS is leaving as it gouges its way across the region, are a
direct challenge to the American people, to the U.S. government and to the
international community.
As it makes increasingly clear what kind of
an organization it is, ISIS is sending a message: "Stay out of this, so we
can keep driving toward our objective."
President Obama said Wednesday that "We
will do everything we can to protect our people ... The entire world is
appalled by the brutal murder."
At the same time, the U.S. should make a
strong diplomatic push to obtain international legitimacy for the campaign to
defeat ISIS. It is important to prevent ISIS from scoring a recruiting victory
among Muslims and anti-Western and anti-American camps by portraying this as a
war between Islam and the West, which it is not.
There are few people on Earth who are not
horrified by ISIS. That includes the overwhelming majority of Muslims. The grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh,
called ISIS and al Qaeda "Enemy No. 1" of Islam. Countless Muslims
have criticized and condemned them.
ISIS is the enemy of anyone who does not
belong to ISIS. They kill minorities, Shiite Muslims and Sunnis who don't abide
by their views. They are virulently opposed to the West, to the U.S., to
modernity and to anyone who sees the world differently from their narrow
medieval perspective.
The U.S. should seek a U.N. resolution
declaring that the international community, including the Muslim world,
considers ISIS and its methods repugnant. Any country that disagrees, any
government that is not revolted by ISIS and troubled by its methods and its
goals, should go on record saying so.
Before ISIS, we knew that human beings are capable of unspeakable
brutality. But anyone who thought man's inhumanity to man had eased after the
mass crimes of the 20th century now knows better. ISIS didn't just remind us
how cruel humans can be; it has taken the use of brutality as a weapon of
intimidation, extermination, genocide and recruitment propaganda to new levels.
ISIS is not the first to murder victims in
large numbers; it is not the first to kill those who disagree with its beliefs
or who belong to different ethnic or religious groups. But it seems no group
has advertised its bloodlust with such relish and effectiveness.
More important, those using these methods,
embracing this philosophy, are in control of enormous territories. When ISIS
calls itself a state, it is not hyperbole by very much. ISIS has taken over a a tract of land bigger than many countries,
something that al Qaeda, its comparatively mild-mannered inspiration, never
came close to achieving.
ISIS has established and gained full dominion
not only of cities and populations but of wealthy oil-producing lands.It
is now financially self-sufficient, collecting millions of dollars every
day from oil smuggling operations. If not stopped, it could continue its push
toward the oil fields of southern Iraq at the edge of the Persian Gulf, which
remains the epicenter of oil and gas production that allows the global economy
to function.
If Osama bin Laden weren't dead, he would die
of envy.
The killing of Foley, an idealistic
journalist, sharpens our understanding of the organization seeking to dominate
the Middle East. That the man who murdered him might have been British
should erase any remaining fantasy in the West that this gruesome war, now
raging in Syria and Iraq, will stay within any country's or any region's
borders.
Those who seek to downplay the risk to the
United States should think again.
In June 2013, a video from Syria surfaced,
showing men cutting off another man's head. To the shock of Europeans, they were heard speaking Dutch.
The ISIS members who hold European passports
are able to travel freely across Europe and the U.S. and are prepared to do the
unthinkable. There are hundreds of Germans, Spaniards, Belgians, French. Graduates of the Syria war, from where ISIS pushed into
Iraq, have killed in Europe.
And ISIS ideology is gaining support in the
continent. Last month, ISIS flags flew in an anti-Israel demonstration in the
Hague, chanting against America and the West and most
enthusiastically, "Death to the Jews."
ISIS can simply not be allowed to keep a
foothold in the Middle East. If it does, the consequences will become even more
catastrophic. In Iraq alone, 1.2 million people have been displaced, thousands
killed.
It is politically and strategically
complicated, because ISIS is also fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and
Hezbollah, and defeating ISIS would also be enormously pleasing to Iran. But
the group is a growing threat.
The strategy of supporting the Kurds and the
Iraqis in the front lines is a good one. It must be bolstered with material and
diplomatic support. If it proves insufficient to turning back the bloody ISIS
tide, then it must be revamped.
Foley's mother said her son gave his life
trying to expose to the world the suffering of the Syrian people. That
suffering has now extended to Iraq, and it will only become more widespread if
ISIS is not stopped.
原影片說明：ISIS posted a video in which it beheads a man they claim is James
Foley -- a U.S. journalist kidnapped in Syria.
影片來源：CNN|Added on
August 18, 2014
原影片說明：Christian villagers outside of Mosul, Iraq have fled to an ancient
monastery. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reports.
原影片說明：IS fighters have their sights on Iraq's capital, Baghdad
新聞與影片來源：BBC| 2 August 2014 Last updated at 14:12
Islamic
State stands with al-Qaeda as one of the most dangerous jihadist groups, after
its gains in Syria and Iraq.
Under its former name Islamic State in Iraq
and the Levant (Isis), it was formed in April 2013, growing out of al-Qaeda in
Iraq (AQI).
It has since been disavowed by al-Qaeda, but
has become one of the main jihadist groups fighting government forces in Syria
and Iraq.
Its precise size is unclear but it is thought
to include thousands of fighters, including many foreign jihadists.
The organisation is led by Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi. Little is known about him, but it is believed he was born in
Samarra, north of Baghdad, in 1971 and joined the insurgency that erupted in
Iraq soon after the 2003 US-led invasion.
In 2010 he emerged as the leader of al-Qaeda
in Iraq, one of the groups that later became Isis.
Baghdadi is regarded as a battlefield
commander and tactician, which analysts say makes his group more attractive to
young jihadists than al-Qaeda, which is led by Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Islamic
theologian.
Prof Peter Neumann of King's College London
estimates that about 80% of Western fighters in Syria have joined the group.
IS claims to have fighters from the UK,
France, Germany and other European countries, as well as the US, the Arab world
and the Caucasus.
Unlike other rebel groups in Syria, IS is
seen to be working towards an Islamic emirate that straddles Syria and Iraq.
The group has seen considerable military
success. In March 2013, it took over the Syrian city of Raqqa - the first
provincial capital to fall under rebel control.
In January 2014, it capitalised on growing
tension between Iraq's Sunni minority and Shia-led government by taking control
of the predominantly Sunni city of Fallujah, in the western province of Anbar.
It also seized large sections of the
provincial capital, Ramadi, and has a presence in a number of towns near the
Turkish and Syrian borders.
The group has gained a reputation for brutal rule in
the areas that it controls.
The US said the fall of Iraq's second city
posed a threat to the entire region. It may also have made ISIS the most
cash-rich militant group in the world.
Initially, the group relied on donations from
wealthy individuals in Gulf Arab states, particularly Kuwait and Saudi Arabia,
who supported its fight against President Bashar al-Assad.
Today, IS is said to earn significant amounts
from the oil fields it controls in eastern Syria, reportedly selling some of
the supply back to the Syrian government. It is also believed to have been
selling looted antiquities from historical sites.
Prof Neumann believes that before the capture
of Mosul in June 2014, IS had cash and assets worth about $900m (£500m).
Afterwards, this rose to around $2bn (£1.18bn).
The group reportedly took hundreds of
millions of dollars from Mosul's branch of Iraq's central bank. And its
financial windfall looked set to continue if it maintains control of oil fields
in northern Iraq.
Inter-rebel
tension
The group has been operating independently of
other jihadist groups in Syria such as the al-Nusra Front, the official
al-Qaeda affiliate in the country, and has had a tense relationship with other
rebels.
Baghdadi sought to merge with al-Nusra, which
rejected the deal, and the two groups have operated separately since.
Zawahiri has urged IS to focus on Iraq and
leave Syria to al-Nusra, but Baghdadi and his fighters openly defied the al-Qaeda
chief.
Hostility to IS grew steadily in Syria as
regularly attacked fellow rebels and abused civilian supporters of the Syrian
opposition.
In January 2014, rebels from both
Western-backed and Islamist groups launched an offensive against IS, seeking to
drive its predominantly foreign fighters out of Syria.
Thousands of people are reported to have been
killed in the infighting.
IS strongholds in Syrian rebel-held and
contested areas
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