George Noory hosted a panel of experts on the Middle East and terrorism, for a discussion on the history of ISIS, and the threats they pose to the US and Western countries.. Columnist and author Jerome Corsi and adventurer and journalist Robert Young Pelton appeared together in hours 2 & 3. ISIS aims to establish a worldwide Sunni Caliphate, and is a natural enemy of Iran (Shiite) but also threatens Sunni states such as Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, Corsi detailed. ISIS, which has been characterized by brutal actions such as beheadings, has spread across the Middle East from its origins in Syria as an opposition group to Assad (the US helped finance and arm ISIS in early days), Corsi continued.
Pelton referred to ISIS as an "asymmetrical threat," as we know them through their graphic videos, rather than any kind of political representatives or ambassadors. Such Jihadi groups have a core management which hires paid fighters that go along with "hangers on"-- typically former military members that have joined up during vacuums of power, Pelton explained. We're going to see a very rapid rollback of ISIS into Syria, and then US policy will shift as to how we deal with the situation, he added. "Politically, I think President Obama is trying to sidestep the fallout that's about to happen. You're going to see massacres," but the US won't take the blame for it "because it's more politically expedient to let the locals fight it out," Pelton remarked.
Journalist Michael Weiss, joining the show in the last hour, pointed out that ISIS has actually been around for 11 years, but just changed their name in recent times. A lot of disbanded members of the Iraqi military "melted into the insurgency," and found their way into ISIS, which combines elements of a terrorist organization, a mafia, and a political party, and reflects the rebounding of the Baath party under the new banner of jihad, he argued. Weiss pondered what happens after "we win the war against ISIS," and suggested it could actually foment a political crisis leading to an Islamic revolution in Iraq.
Lost City in Honduras
First half-hour guest, engineer and investigator of Mayan technology, James O'Kon, talked about the discovery of a lost city in the Honduran jungle, which dates back centuries ago. In contrast to the Maya who were also in Honduras, nothing is known about the builders of this mysterious town, which is thought to possibly be the 'White City" or "City of the Monkey God" of legend. The location is in a very dense, remote part of the Rain Forest, and was first discovered in an aerial sweep, O'Kon noted.
News segment guests: Robert Felix, Steve Kates