He defends that claim by showing how we are playing patty-cake while they are playing hardball. With all our technological prowess, we can't keep them from using electronic media to reach recruits, advertise their conquests, and terrorize those in ISIS' path. See Peters' description of their recruiting pitch:
While our “elites” no longer comprehend religious zeal, ISIS lives it — and wields it on impressionable young Muslims around the globe.In other words, ISIS jihadis are latter-day Crusaders. They have God in their hearts, blood on their swords and lust in their jeans. We worry about killing Arab civilians; they worry about finding more victims - military or civilian - to kill, rape or enslave.
Its recruiting campaign is brilliant — cheap and effective — offering young misfits entry into the ultimate boys’ club, where Allah gives you a license not only to kill, but to torture, rape and enslave.
If you’re killed, you go to paradise. Our counter-offer is minimum-wage jobs.
And if you can’t make it to the ruins of Syria or Iraq, you get full points for terrorist acts at home.
ISIS uses a unique mix of asymmetric warfare and regular military tactics, in combination. Quite often suicide bombers soften up targets before regular troops and armor attack. Plus, publicizing the torture/murder of prisoners generates mass enemy desertions before a battle begins.
