D
Dervish
Guest
You'd think they'd have some sense of military tactics. :P
Still, they used to work for the Taliban.
The Taliban being ran by Osama Bin Laden, who was trained by the Americans.
You'd think that sort of knowledge from him +others who deserted into Terrorism would have passed down considering what a big game changer it is.
ISIS has nothing to do with the Taliban. They actually hate each other, and ISIS is at odds with Al Qaeda. ISIS formed in the power vacuum during the Syrian Civil War and the uncontrolled regions in Iraq, which have nothing to do with Afghanistan, where the Taliban solely resides (along with the Western reaches of Pakistan). I know it's easy to look at all Islamic extremists as the same thing, but they really aren't.
Also, while Bin Laden did receive CIA support back in the 1980s to fight the Soviets, the Taliban formed some time later and isn't exclusively the fighters the US armed, trained, and supplied. That was also 20 years before 9/11, so it would be silly to assume it's the exact same people.
Best example for the people making up these extremist groups are the same sorts of disenfranchised people who would join gangs in Western culture. The leaders actively and smartly recruit in villages and city centers with all sorts of great promises and benefits and opportunities that they wouldn't get otherwise. A lot of their fighters are seriously desperate people who are offered something they wouldn't get otherwise.
It isn't everyone, of course, but they are by no means professional soldiers and ISIS can barely pay their wages now. It's a shit show.