back to article IS 'hackers' urge US-based jihadis: 'Wipe yourselves out trying to kill 0.00005 of US forces'

One hundred supposed US military personnel have apparently been doxed in a propaganda release signed by the "Islamic State Hacking Division," which urges IS supporters in the USA to "kill them in their own lands, behead them in their own homes, stab them to death as they walk their streets thinking that they are safe". A US …

  1. TeeCee Gold badge
    Facepalm

    Hmmm....

    Does that mean that there is now such a thing as a Pyhrric Defeat?

    1. gerryg

      Re: Hmmm....

      I think that's called a Pyrrhic victory

    2. Bleu

      Re: Hmmm....

      If you think about it, neither TeeCee's comment (clearly intendedas levity) nor the reply makes any sense, unless we know the referent within the article.

      Pyrrhic victory: victory with unexpected bad consequences.

      So, Pyrrhic defeat: defeat with bad consequences for the victors.

      Looks like the kind of post aimed at boosting sheer numbers of posts. The reply to it, likewise.

      TeeCee, I don't think the Reg has platinum or plutonium badges to aim for through sheer weight of asinine but inoffensive comments.

      1. Vladimir Plouzhnikov

        Re: Hmmm....

        Looks like the kind of post aimed at boosting sheer numbers of posts. The reply to it, likewise.

        What an outrage! How dare they?!

      2. Ken Hagan Gold badge

        Re: Hmmm....

        @Bleu: I suggest you google El Reg forum archives for "platinum membership". It may never have existed but that never seemed to matter.

      3. Stevie

        Re: Hmmm....

        I agree!

      4. TeeCee Gold badge

        Re: Hmmm....

        Nope. The angle I was looking for was:

        Pyrrhic victory = cacking yourself over in winning.

        Pyrrhic Defeat = cacking yourself over and still losing....

        i.e. The sort of strategy where all the opposition needs to do to ensure victory is buy popcorn and enjoy the show.

        1. Bleu

          Re: Hmmm....

          May have been your intention, but the definitions I offered in an earlier post have a far stronger connection to language and logic.

  2. lurker

    I think you're missing the point of terrorism, which has absolutely nothing to do with achieving a traditional military victory such as could be judged based on a 'us dead vs. them dead' calculation.

    1. stucs201

      Actually I think el-reg have the point entirely.

      The terrorists want us scared and to an extent normal reporting of their activities helps that aim. The approach taken here of pointing out how little they're actually achieving and making them seem rediculous is the best way of avoiding giving them the sort of publicity they want without resorting to censorship of the news.

      1. lurker

        Re: Actually I think el-reg have the point entirely.

        If El Reg really understood the point of terrorism - and in particular the fact that media coverage is what makes it 'work' - they probably wouldn't have written anything at all on the subject.

        I'm not saying western media should censor themselves and not cover terrorism. But the fact that the amount of coverage is so completely out of proportion to the actual effect (when you compare e.g deaths through road traffic vs deaths through terrorism) is precisely how terrorism works - essentially people like to be scared, governments like people to be scared, terrorists like people to be scared, and the media like to be profitable and can do by facilitating all of the above. It's just the rest of us who don't profit from this equation of misery.

        I do take your point though that if you have to write about it, it's better to write a 'two fingers up to terrorism' article than a 'hide under the bed the terrorists are coming' article.

        1. Eddy Ito

          Re: Actually I think el-reg have the point entirely.

          I don't see it as terrorism. It's just a threat. Moreover it's a threat against a group of folks who are quite likely highly trained and skilled in the use of firearms and this threat will almost assuredly guarantee those folks a concealed carry permit if they so choose even in restrictive places like California or New Jersey. Threats don't generally terrorize people and in fact do just the opposite, more threats is just like crying wolf in a post "threat level orange" world.

          Terrorism is what John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo were doing a bit over a decade ago. Of course no self respecting jihadist would take that path because the publicity isn't right. What good does it do if you actually kill random folks but remain anonymous? If you don't do your best to remain anonymous then you don't last very long and as the Boston Marathon bombers proved, trying to stay hidden doesn't always work either and in six months the rest of the nation is respectfully back to 'meh'.

        2. Bob Dole (tm)

          Re: Actually I think el-reg have the point entirely.

          >> If El Reg really understood the point of terrorism - and in particular the fact that media coverage is what makes it 'work' - they probably wouldn't have written anything at all on the subject.

          agreed. I would think Responsible news media would ignore this crap completely.

          1. Marshalltown
            Pint

            Re: Actually I think el-reg have the point entirely.

            "... agreed. I would think Responsible news media would ignore this crap completely. ..."

            Which would then leave the story to the Irresponsible media, as it were. There are only so many ways to treat this kind of thing. Terrorists by and large have only one point, and that is located in the bull's eye on the top of their pointy little skulls. They are miserable people who wish to spread their misery and to display for all their monumental ignorance of the history of their own civilization's past. Laughing at them might aggravate them, but what are they going to do, scare us?

            Western science, mathematics and chemistry as we know it would not exist without the contributions of medieval Muslim scholars. The reality is that the "past" they hark back to was not ruled by what they think of as Sharia at present. It was instead quite enlightened. Europe was the backwater dominated by religious fanatics. So, these "Muslim" terrorists really want to be more like medieval Christians than like medieval Muslims. How embarrassing is that?

            Beer because, for the terrorist, there never is a Miller time. Gitmo awaits.

        3. JEDIDIAH
          Devil

          Re: Actually I think el-reg have the point entirely.

          The El Reg reaction to this strategy appears to be amusement.

          I think they understand the point of terrorism all too well.

          It might be ISIS that doesn't completely understand the concept.

      2. Wommit

        Re: Actually I think el-reg have the point entirely.

        Don't forget the fact is that ridicule hurts. It hurts whether you're a child, adult (I was going to say "grown up", but I've read a lot of the commentards on this site.) or dribbling fanatic.

        The purpose of terrorism is to terrify. If your target is laughing at you it's hard to believe that you have terrified them.

        I'm sure that the leaders and organisers of the ISIS know the real effect that their propaganda is having. I'm equally sure that the average cannon fodder^W^W foot soldier hasn't. But it does bring in a few more morons who believe the bullshit that their preachers are telling them.

        With so many idiots being killed in the ISIS, maybe they are doing a good thing. They are after all increasing the average IQ of the planets population.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Yes, the terrorists are after some shock and media value. Like the murder of Lee Rigby, who as far as I know had never even been on a counterterrorism mission.

      1. Bleu

        I gather he had, he did serve in Afghanistan, although whether he did or didn't made no difference to his insane murderers.

    3. Wzrd1 Silver badge

      Military victories aren't measured by the number of dead, they're measured by when the enemy lost the will to continue fighting.

  3. Alistair
    Coat

    Oh lord. Lets just feed the Pols some more fuel

    This will feed into $harper'$ "let us collect it ALL" so yer safe crap.

    And for the record, the individual shot in Ottawa was a mentally damaged person who had been for several years on various radars as "dangerously damaged" in various forms. Once again communications with current information between forces would have better prevented the issue. Kudos again to the Sgt-At-Arms of the house for doing his job better than any politician he was protecting did theirs.

    Personally crap like this makes me suspect that the political motivation actually comes from *this* side of the pond.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Mushroom

    One could also compare the 'threat' against the actual numbers

    of serving US military personel killed, either inadvertently, deliberately, or in moments of madness, by their fellow serving US military personel. That's if the sound of a pin dropping in the ocean* is still a little too loud for some.

    *is a convoluted metaphor effectively squared?

  5. Pen-y-gors

    I have a cunning plan...

    Has anyone thought that this might actually be a cunning ploy by someone in the US 'security' industry? Basically a honeypot to lure out would-be jihadi-kiddies by suggesting some nice tempting targets, who are in fact armed and ready. Excellent way to uncover the ones who aren't already on the radar, and being ignored.

    1. Mark 85

      Re: I have a cunning plan...

      Good point. I was just thinking the same thing. Given the nature of the paranoia and the way certain agencies work, that's a reasonable question.

      Or, will this just be a nice excuse to ramp up the surveillance?

    2. Wzrd1 Silver badge

      Re: I have a cunning plan...

      Well, as one who is retired US military, I'll mention the fact that we were only armed when in the field training or on the range firing, when on our home base.

      So, going to and from my home to the base, I most certainly was not armed.

      That said, if anyone then or now came at me with a knife, he'd end up either with multiple dislocations or impaled upon his own blade. It all would depend on how irritated I was.

  6. FutureShock999

    Lambs to ISlaughter

    So, ISIS has managed to alert 100 "targets" that they will be "hunted" by unskilled jihadists that most likely have little or no combat experience.

    I have to say, I think that not only are most of those 100 targets amused, many of them are spending this evening sharpening their combat knives, ensuring they have 9mm pistols in every room of the house, two shotguns under the bed, and if anything salivating at the chance to kill some jihadists without having to get on a plane.

    1. JeffyPoooh
      Pint

      Re: Lambs to ISlaughter

      "...have 9mm pistols in every room of the house, two shotguns under the bed..."

      36-to-1.

      Ratio of one's own kids finding and playing with guns with tragic results vice shooting a house invader. USA. Ref. Can't remember where I saw this.

      Odds may slightly shift in these circumstances. But still, manage all risks.

      1. JEDIDIAH
        Mushroom

        Re: Lambs to ISlaughter

        Just based on media reports, that 36:1 number doesn't hold up and this is despite obvious media bias in favor of reporting child related incidents.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Lambs to ISlaughter

        In our (military) families, I'd love to see an actual statistic from that (military) population. I grew up knowing everything about arms. Hell, Mom taught me archery. Ready access to knives, firearms, bows, flare guns,yada, yada.... I've never heard of any accidents like that in any of our families (I grew up a military brat). Actually should some Jihadist try this on a military family, the kids are the most likely to be ones shooting back given Mom and/or Dad is going to be at work.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Holmes

      Re: Lambs to ISlaughter

      IIRC, US Special Forces (Seals, Rangers, Green Berets, etc) are taught dozens of methods of killing very quickly and efficiently with just their bare hands. I'm sure the Brits and Aussies teach much the same thing.

      Sneaking into a soldier's home is probably not a good idea for long-term life expectancy.

    3. Wzrd1 Silver badge

      Re: Lambs to ISlaughter

      My old fighting knives are already sharp. 9mm, pah! I'm an M1911 man. My wife preferrs her .38 special.

  7. Gray
    Black Helicopters

    All this crap hysteria

    is working just as intended. Mindless media, bloviating politicians, security pundits, paranoid security services, and nervous civilians ... awash in a flood of "terror events" from the bloody Middle East ... are now looking nervously over their shoulders or pointing self-righteous fingers in a renewed Call to Arms in the American Homeland!

    As for armed US military service people walking the streets or waiting in ambush at home, get a reality grip, people! The US military takes a profoundly dim view of their personnel carrying weapons in civilian settings, and never on base while on duty. It doesn't happen. Police and plain-clothes agents of civilian agencies, yes. Service people not on active guard duty, no.

    ISIS terror propaganda wins: not only is the sky falling, but the ground is exploding beneath our feet. Alarm! Alarm! Trust no one!

    Get a grip, people!

  8. Graham Marsden
    Big Brother

    " there aren't all that many IS/jihadi adherents in the USA...

    "...whose commitment to the cause is strong enough" etc etc

    Nor in the UK or most anywhere else, I don't doubt. But that's still not going to stop our fearless leaders deciding that the Security Services need even more powers to monitor us and control us and check up on what we're reading and who we're talking to and what we're looking at and...

    PS I recently travelled by air and I was not at all, in any way, shape or form, counting the number of simple ways of bypassing the Security Theatre BS that is supposed to "protect" us (or, at least, make us think that our leaders are "doing something" about the problems which their actions have caused...) that I could see without even bothering to put my mind to it...

    *cough* seven *cough*

  9. John 104

    Do they even wonder..

    "kill them in their own lands, behead them in their own homes, stab them to death as they walk their streets thinking that they are safe"

    Do they even wonder why the world tends to hate them so much? Just a big bunch of babies throwing a tantrum because they'd rather be given shiny things instead of earn them...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Do they even wonder..

      "Do they even wonder why the world tends to hate them so much? Just a big bunch of babies throwing a tantrum because they'd rather be given shiny things instead of earn them..."

      Now now, there's no need to be mean to the Americans.

  10. x 7

    Thatcher had it right:

    "Deprive terrorists of the oxygen of publicity"

    Deny them access to the press

    1. Florida1920

      Deny them access to the press

      That only worked when the targets of terrorism had media monopolies. Thanks to the interwebs, any fool can set up a media outlet. Trying to stop it is pointless.

      The goal always should be to control the flow of information. Unfortunately, that turns against the people when their governments propagandize them!

      As long as we have a free press, we're stuck with the likes of Fox, Ted Cruz and John "Bomb Iran" McCain. You can bet your last bitcoin they'll use the spewings of ISIS et al for their purposes at every chance. Mocking articles like El Reg's are one of several reasonable counterweights.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Here we go again

    Medievel terror bastards ISIS use this internet thing so we must hoover up all your traffic, its for your own good y'all!

    Its like all the hand wringing and blame flinging when all these people leg it off to Syria to join ISIS, let them get on with it, if they want to live in that hell hole thanks to belief in a non existent mythical sky fairy then so be it.

    Instead our "leaders" make a huge fuss and use it to introduce more laws to further control the population.

    Statistically, as a UK citizen you are more likely to die in fall from a height than a terrorist event, time to turn our attention to the likes of Homebase and B and Q selling those death bringing step ladders!

    1. Matt Bryant Silver badge
      Facepalm

      Re: AC Re: Here we go again

      ".....if they want to live in that hell hole...." But that's the problem. If the twits only wanted to go abroad and die then HMG would be falling over itself to send them on their merry way. Unfortunately, as the rest of us have found out, after their Islamic "utopias" collapse, all too many of the jihadis insist on coming back and trying to relive their jaunts abroad in supermarkets, museums and chocolate shops. That is the real problem and why the spooks are trying to track so many of the potential jihadis before they go, so it makes it easier to keep an eye on them when they come back.

  12. x 7

    "Statistically, as a UK citizen you are more likely to die in fall from a height than a terrorist event"

    This week true

    Next week also true

    Next year probably true

    Five years time? Ten years time?

    The bastards are in this for the long game and the sooner we realise that and stop them the better.

    They're happy to both succeed and die by increments.In jihadi thought the two are indentical.

    1. MrDamage Silver badge

      Clarification Please

      > "The bastards are in this for the long game and the sooner we realise that and stop them the better."

      Are we still talking about the terrorists here, or the politicians eroding our rights to freedom of thought, speech, association, and movement?

      1. x 7

        Re: Clarification Please

        "Are we still talking about the terrorists here,"

        the terrorists, with whom - based on your comment - I assume you sympathise

        1. Graham Marsden
          FAIL

          @x 7 - Re: Clarification Please

          Ah, the good old "You're either with us or against us" argument.

          (Again, are we still talking about the terrorists here?)

          1. x 7

            Re: @x 7 - Clarification Please

            "Ah, the good old "You're either with us or against us" argument"

            Absolutely. And I'm not ashamed of saying so. You can play at ostrich if you like, don't expect the rest of us to act likewise

            1. Graham Marsden
              Boffin

              Re: @x 7 - Clarification Please

              And you can play by the terrorists rules too (they shout "Boo!" we jump and remove even more of our freedoms), but don't expect the rest of us to be so stupid or naiive.

              1. Matt Bryant Silver badge
                FAIL

                Re: Marsbarbrain Re: @x 7 - Clarification Please

                ".....and remove even more of our freedoms....." Usual rejoinder to that male bovine manure - please do give a single example of how you personally have in any way at all been "harmed" or had any freedom "lost", as you so hysterically claim at every opportunity? As we have all seen before in previous threads, you are completely unable to provide any such detail.

              2. x 7

                Re: @x 7 - Clarification Please

                Yep, we should play by the terrorists rules: They shout "Boo" and we shoot them.

                Simple. No pissing around

  13. Robert Helpmann??
    Childcatcher

    Just not funny any more...

    ... This would seem like a typical result in any future cases; hence our headline.

    It ruins a joke if you have to explain it. Likewise here.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Facepalm

    Why?

    Why did they bother, apart from publicity reasons, distribute a list of Servicemen. After all they are not that hard to spot or find.

    It;s not generally a good idea to waylay a trained soldier (particularly in Hereford I'm told) but as the Incident in Woolich showed they are not invulnerable. Treat such attackers as simple murderers and not make a big deal of what they claim to believe as they are too stupid to understand their own (claimed) religion.

    I would however keep them in isolation from the decent crims, put them in with the paedos maybe?

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