The Advance of ISIS

A few pictures can give some idea of the situation:

US humvees, now being used by ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq & Syria).  And this would be Georgian-Chechen ISIS commander Umar al Shishani who’s smiling at the capture of American humvees given to Iraq’s failing government.

And one more photo via Jawa Report of US humvees now used by the emerging terrorist caliphate:

They’ve taken Tikrit and basically taken Mosul, and as the map (via Jawa Report again) shows, they are not “on the run”:

Reports say 500,000 people have evacuated/are evacuating Mosul.  But pictures say plenty:

And then, of course, there’s the fact that ISIS just made themselves the richest terrorist group in the world:

The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Shams (Isis) has become the richest terror group ever after looting 500 billion Iraqi dinars – the equivalent of $429m (£256m) – from Mosul’s central bank, according to the regional governor.

Nineveh governor Atheel al-Nujaifi confirmed Kurdish televison reports that Isis militants had stolen millions from numerous banks across Mosul. A large quantity of gold bullion is also believed to have been stolen.

Following the siege of the country’s second city, the bounty collected by the group has left it richer than al-Qaeda itself and as wealthy as small nations such as Tonga, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands and the Falkland Islands.

But Bin Laden is dead and Al Qaeda is on the run, right?

One may disagree with the original decision to go in (and there’s plenty of disagreement to be had), but US departure from the region has left it open to terrorists and tyrants who are actively getting stronger due to the absence of any resistant or even stabilizing force.