Normally, I'd Think This Was The Dumbest Move Possible

[abaris]

The more I think about it this is not telling them anything they did not already know. They had to figure the Iraqis would be coming after them and Mosul is the best target to go after. What else is there? Fallujah?

The major mistake being constantly made for the last 14 years is to take fanaticism for stupidity. It starts with Massud being killed two days before 9/11. They fully expected an assault on Afghanistan and removed one of the most prominent figures of the opposition. And what is the goal behind these televised executions of Westerners? Compared to the carnage they leave behind on a daily basis among fellow muslims and minorities living in the region, these beheadings are a drop in the ocean. But they are a bait, since Westerners are all the West ultimately gives a shit about. It evokes the desired outrage and they're hoping for retaliation of some kind.

The West would be well adivised to consider that the other side has a plan too. Their goals may be otherworldly but their strategy isn't. Also, just like some christians we meet on this board on occasion, they're working towards their version of Armageddon. They want that big clash of what they consider good versus evil. They want a big surge in their favor and the best way to achieve that is for the West overreacting with another invasion and by inflicting large numbers of civilian casualties.