Stephen England, a Shadow Warriors thrillers author, who is said to possess a considerable cache of knowledge on the nature of Islam, the Middle East, espionage and counterterrorism operations, explains the nature of the acronyms used by different parties for this excrescence: The Secret Agenda Behind Obama’s Use of “ISIL”. . .Not So Fast. Interesting read, warmly recommended.
To summarize - first of all:
In short, while ISIS and ISIL are functionally identical, “The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant” is the single most accurate pure English translation which can be used–and given the cluttering of search engine results for “ISIS” with everything from Egyptian goddesses to comic book characters–the most rational choice for the administration.Then:
President Obama’s real message to ISIL is the one he’s broadcasting in the clear–the one that has already resulted in the beheading of two Americans.
It’s: “I have no strategy.”
