ISIS does very bad things. They are terrorists who behead innocents in Youtube videos. They threaten, they swagger, they demand recognition as tough asses.
They frame themselves as an Islamic tribe and may even at some level believe they are preparing a zombie shelter to weather the apocalypse.
At the same time, though, there's a lot of misogyny and abuse that happens under their watch. Like any men with superiority fantasies and underlying fear of women, they oppress, rape, threaten and claim justification for abusing women.
If the rest of the world were to turn away, this would not change.
As the world considers what to do about ISIS and focuses on the international threat stuff, it's worthwhile to keep this stuff in mind.
Beating another man is a way for ISIS boys to prove how tough they are. Being beaten by women, though, must be a terrifying concept. It goes against everything they've built their internal narrative around.
Picture every threat issued by ISIS responded to by women commanders with a subtle hint of scolding the unruly schoolboy. Picture any armed response led by tough, confident and well-trained women. Picture support networks externally, but also psy-ops directed internally to ISIS focused on the message of female empowerment as the historical solution to the four horsemen.
It has the virtue of being true.
We've never seen a strategy of this sort, before. As such, it's a risky gambit, one the tough guys who tend to run all things military would have a hard time swallowing. Isn't it safer to stick with what we know works?
Exactly.
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