Islamic state militants blow up temple in ancient city of Palmyra

[Coventina]

Source: Reuters

Islamic state militants blew up on Sunday the temple of Baal Shamin, one of the most important sites in Syria's ancient city of Palmyra, the country's antiquities chief Maamoun Abdul Karim said.

The militants, who captured Palmyra in May, had until now only blown up a few Muslim shrines in the ancient city, saying they were being used for pagan practices by visitors and worshipers.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/23/us-mideast-crisis-palmyra-idUSKCN0QS0WC20150823

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I hate these guys with a hatred that is beyond describing in words.

[romanic]

1. These people are fucking evil.

And worst yet, they're killing off potential money making sites for Syria and the region; shortsighted, stupid and sadistic. I hope the sites can be rebuilt or replicated.

[elfin]

2. Dammit. Iconoclasm of truly ancient sites is a crime.

It happens all the time throughout history. We exulted in the destruction of Stalin and Saddam statues -- but these ancient sites hold no temporal threat to inflame masses you wish to subjugate.

Murdering the sites is bad enough - murdering scholars who elucidate those sites is horrific. As a history teacher, I grieve.

[bluestateguy]

3. They're savages

nt

[oldandhappy]

4. Words fail me

I have been there. No sense of history, no sense of culture, no sense of art/beauty. I cannot express the loss.

[metalbot]

18. I'm not sure i feel a lot of loss here

Certainly not in the grand scheme of things. You could visit the ruins, and obtain a sense of wonder for human civilization. You can't do that at that place anymore.

Contrast that to the systematic use of rape, torture, and genocide, and I'm not sure I have a lot of emotion left to give to feel bad about the destruction of ruins that, while interesting, their absence won't cause systematic rape, torture, and genocide.

[cilla4progress]

5. I can only think they have followers and supporters

because the populations are terrified, have been abandoned, are propogandized, and desperately in need of services.

[Ex Lurker]

6. That doesn't explain their supporters in the West nt

[cilla4progress]

8. Psychotic.

Seriously. And/or really hate the west, have been hurt by it, or perceived indignities.

[6chars]

9. who has moral agency in all this?

(other than the west, of course)

[Syzygy321]

15. Nope. You've read the stories. They are average people.

It's human nature. People are drawn to big single-minded groups that offer a soul-stirring message. They rush to lose themselves and merge with the savage herd. The bloodthirsty rituals are icing on the cake.

It's pretty much the same thing that makes people fanatical about sports teams.

[Diclotican]

7. Coventina

Coventina

I cry - out of anger - becouse of the loss we encounter with this barbars... How great damage the IS would do, before they are no more....

And I also hate this guys with a hatered out of this world....

Diclotican

[onehandle]

10. The Bush/Nader legacy strikes again. nt

[tabasco]

11. Why can't the U.N. or somebody put together an army and destroy these fucks?

There should be a truly multi-national effort to eliminate these scum by now.

And not the U.S. military going in with a few battalions from other countries like George AWOL Bush's phony "coalition."

[romanic]

13. When has the U.N. done anything useful military wise?

[tabasco]

19. Thanks for asking!

PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS 1948-2013

United Nations Truce Supervision Organization
United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan
First United Nations Emergency Force
United Nations Observation Group in Lebanon
United Nations Operation in the Congo
United Nations Security Force in West New Guinea
United Nations Yemen Observation Mission
United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus
Mission of the Representative of the Secretary-General in the Dominican Republic
United Nations India-Pakistan Observation Mission
Second United Nations Emergency Force
United Nations Disengagement Observer Force
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
United Nations Good Offices Mission in Afghanistan and Pakistan
United Nations Iran-Iraq Military Observer Group
United Nations Angola Verification Mission I
United Nations Transition Assistance Group
United Nations Observer Group in Central America
United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission
United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara
United Nations Angola Verification Mission II
United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador
United Nations Advance Mission in Cambodia
United Nations Protection Force
United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia
United Nations Operation in Somalia I
United Nations Operation in Mozambique
United Nations Operation in Somalia II
United Nations Observer Mission Uganda-Rwanda
United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia
United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia
United Nations Mission in Haiti
United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda
United Nations Aouzou Strip Observer Group
United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan
United Nations Angola Verification Mission III
United Nations Confidence Restoration Operation in Croatia
United Nations Preventive Deployment Force
United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina
United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium
United Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka
United Nations Support Mission in Haiti
United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala
United Nations Observer Mission in Angola
United Nations Transition Mission in Haiti
United Nations Civilian Police Mission in Haiti
UN Civilian Police Support Group
United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic
United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone
United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone
United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor
United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea
United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor
United Nations Mission in Liberia
United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire
United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti
United Nations Operation in Burundi
United Nations Mission in the Sudan
United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste
African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur
United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad
United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
United Nations Organization Interim Security Force for Abyei
United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan
United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria
United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali
United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic

http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/operations/history.shtml

[Throd]

20. That's just a list. How much of that was actually useful?

[tabasco]

23. LOL

You haven't learned to read yet? Pity. There's so much information on the Internet you're missing out on.

[Syzygy321]

16. Military intervention by the west will inevitably kill

Arab civilians - largely Muslim (since that's all that's left). And will be recast by propagandists as "another Zionist-Crusader war against Islam."

Isis isn't just 50,000 people and their weapons. It's a popular ideology. Bombing it reinforces the widely held Arab belief that Muslims are victims of non-muslims all over the world, and must take up arms against the Western and Jewish oppressors.

Attacking it is like cutting off a head of the Hydra.ًً Best thing to do - tragically - is stand clear, maybe try to block its moneymaking schemes, and let it burn itself out.

[Coventina]

22. If ISIS' ideology really is that popular, then it really is Islam vs. the world.

[blackspade]

12. Makes me sick.

The wanton destruction of history and lives by these assholes is tragic and maddening.
They are trying to goad the rest of the world to justify their cynically insane behavior.

These guys make Assad seem like an OK guy in comparison.

[secondwind]

14. Is Assad just standing by, watching all of this, and doing nothing? WTF? n/t

[Syzygy321]

17. For a long time he let ISIS prosper

because their existence was useful to him. Now he is too weak (and ISIS and Nusra too well funded and well armed by their friends) to stop them.

He is like a guy who started a fire on his back porch, thinking he could collect some juicy insurance money off the limited damage. But forgot to check which way the wind was blowing.

[ausboy]

21. He has been fighting them

...and has suffered a lot of losses to them. Right now the Syrian government is holding onto Damascus and what's left of other major cities. In fact they were fighting Isis in Palmyra but we're overwhelmed and pulled back.

When you say he let Isis grow, don't you mean the US let them grow? In fact the US funded what is now effectively ISis. The Syrian army cannot control Isis - they never could... They spanned 2 countries and had an ever increasing supply of international jihadists coming in. Its easy to blame Assad. But Isis would be done with if the west simply works with him. If you consider him evil, fine. But choose the lesser of the two evils at least...

[daleo]

24. Monotheistic religions have totalitarianism in their very intellectual DNA

Modern western monotheism generally ignores and suppresses that instinct. ISIS demonstrates it, powerfully. Erasing history is common to totalitarian movements. They fear the very existence of contrary world views.