Worshipping untrammeled violence and human subjugation, the Islamic State is very flexible in its recruitment policy. This is worth noting, in that ISIS is now claiming Las Vegas gunman, Stephen Paddock, was one of its followers. Counter-extremism scholar, Aymenn al-Tamimi, translates the latest ISIS claim as follows.
Still, the authorities say there’s no evidence to support ISIS’ claims, and on paper, Paddock seemed to be irreligious.
I think one of two things is going on here.
First, it’s possible that Paddock did convert to Islam and pledge himself to ISIS, but that the U.S. government hasn’t found evidence of this. ISIS’s doubling down on Paddock’s supposed fealty lends credibility here in that the group is staking its reputation on that assertion. And it is irrelevant that Paddock may have had some kind of mental breakdown. As with Orlando nightclub attacker, Omar Mateen, ISIS tends to attract dysfunctional and troubled individuals: if Paddock somehow contacted ISIS and appeared to be mentally ill, the group would have happily embraced him regardless. While al Qaeda is slowly adopting a similarly flexible recruitment strategy, ISIS remains the terrorist world leader at this kind of manipulation.
The alternative explanation is that of fake news. Consider that even if Paddock was not in contact with ISIS or aligned with or even inspired by its agenda, the group has the opportunity to manipulate the Las Vegas narrative to its own purposes. As Aymenn al-Tamimi notes, even if investigators determine that ISIS was not involved in the Las Vegas attack, ISIS may gamble that the era of fake news, conspiracies, and Alex Jones will persuade Americans and ISIS followers that it was involved. Considering that ISIS’ raison d’être — an ordained Caliphate liberating the world from immoral injustice — is threatened by its loss of territory in Iraq and Syria, the group’s desperate need for some big public victories is obvious. Indeed, this concern is especially pronounced in the context of last week’s audiotape release from ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
One thread runs through both these possibilities: hatred.
Whatever their truth, ISIS’ claims of responsibility highlight its absolute war mentality towards the United States. As I’ve noted, unlike other Islamic extremist groups such as the Lebanese Hezbollah, ISIS views violence against America as an end in and of itself. Ultimately, ISIS’ violence is not targeted on moving the political needle in its favor, but rather in maximizing the flow of the adversary’s blood. Correspondingly, wherever and however ISIS can inflict suffering on the United States, it seeks to do so.
Whatever Paddock’s relationship with ISIS, or the gunman’s state of mind, ISIS has its reasons for appropriating him.
