Skip to main content
Tags: Iraq | Syria | conflict | US | Internet | Kuwait

US Urges Coalition to Wage Online Battle Against ISIS

Monday, 27 October 2014 06:22 AM EDT

Washington called Monday for the battle against the Islamic State group to be extended to the Internet, as coalition partners met for talks on how to stop the jihadists' online propaganda.

Opening the talks in Kuwait City, retired US general John Allen said IS was promoting its "horrendous brand of warfare" online, where it "recruits and perverts the innocent".

"It is only when we contest ISIL's presence online, deny the legitimacy of the message it sends to vulnerable young people... it is only then that ISIL will truly be defeated," Allen said, using an alternative name for the extremist group.

Allen, who is coordinating the US-led campaign against IS, was meeting with representatives of coalition countries including Bahrain, Britain, Egypt, France, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

IS, which has seized large parts of Syria and Iraq and declared an Islamic "caliphate", operates a sophisticated online presence, posting frequent propaganda videos and publishing its own expertly designed magazine.

Some of the videos have featured brutal atrocities, including the on-camera beheadings of two US journalists and two British aid workers.

IS and its supporters also have a strong presence on social media, which has become an important recruitment tool to attract foreign fighters to their cause.

Western governments have been increasingly alarmed by the numbers of Europeans and Americans making their way to Syria to fight with IS.

Concern is also growing over the group's online influence among disaffected young Muslims living in the West and its calls for them to carry out attacks on Western targets.

Allen said the talks in Kuwait would focus on "how to degrade and defeat ISIL's messaging and how we can all confront and contest its presence in the information space and online."

This would require a "holistic, coordinated approach at the international, regional and local levels, combining military, law enforcement, intelligence, economic and diplomatic tools."

Washington has built up a coalition of Western and Arab nations to combat IS, launching a series of air strikes against it in Iraq and Syria and backing local ground forces including the Iraqi army, Syrian rebels and Kurdish militia forces.

 

© AFP 2025


Newsfront
Washington called Monday for the battle against the Islamic State group to be extended to the Internet, as coalition partners met for talks on how to stop the jihadists' online propaganda.Opening the talks in Kuwait City, retired US general John Allen said IS was promoting...
Iraq, Syria, conflict, US, Internet, Kuwait
358
2014-22-27
Monday, 27 October 2014 06:22 AM
Newsmax Media, Inc.

Sign up for Newsmax’s Daily Newsletter

Receive breaking news and original analysis - sent right to your inbox.

(Optional for Local News)
Privacy: We never share your email address.
Join the Newsmax Community
Read and Post Comments
Please review Community Guidelines before posting a comment.
 
TOP

Interest-Based Advertising | Do not sell or share my personal information

Newsmax, Moneynews, Newsmax Health, and Independent. American. are registered trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc. Newsmax TV, and Newsmax World are trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc.

NEWSMAX.COM
America's News Page
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Download the Newsmax App
NEWSMAX.COM
America's News Page
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved