ISIS last year made a shock advance that conquered 2 states within
months establishing the world's first terrorist state tearing holes in
the narrative that "everything is under control". After a period of
calm, so-called experts started proclaiming that ISIS is finished. The
group exhausted, their collapse imminent and normality will soon be
re-established.

And yet suddenly within a day, they took both the Iraqi province of
Abadi and the Syrian city of Palmyra. Now they are well on the way
advancing towards the core Syrian territory of Damascus.

Everyday on the war front, American planes are flying missions raining
explosive death from the air. The ground shakes, windows blow up from
miles away and all night long the sound of machines guns make a
continuous hum. Yet among this rain of death, the tenacity of ISIS not
only clings on, but thrives growing its tentacles. There is a hidden
power driving this machine.

Anyone who studies what ISIS says, will see the clarity in their words
and the beauty with which they interweave past and present waxing poetic
about destiny. The actions of the organisation might seem random and
often pointless, even self-contradicting but the motive that drives the
individuals is very focused and consistent.

The fall of the Soviet Union, marked the ideological victory of state
capitalism. Communism was vanquished. Capitalism had proved itself as
the one true ideology. A new age was supposed to dawn. A new age of
apathy and rejection of politics drifted in.

Some say the empire searched for a new threat to justify itself. I think
it's more useful to imagine it expanded its net to finish its quest for
total ideological dominance and the end of history. World War 1 was
supposed to end all wars, and the cold war was supposed to finish history.

But the barbarians are flooding Rome.

The anti-ideological capitalist state cannot defeat the rise of the new
ideological movements. It was born in a different age, and it lacks the
tools to deal with the new world.

The Iraqi army armed with the best heavy weapons, well equipped,
supported by constant US aerial bombardment and outnumbering ISIS 10 to
1, ran from the ideologically committed Jihadists armed only with AKs
and explosive trucks last week.

It is now ironic that we are truly seeing the defining war of our times.
A nexus of ideologies and narratives. And in the land of al-Sham, birth
of human civilisation, sacred land to Christians and Muslims. And it's
here that we see anarchists, islamists, state capitalists, communists
and nationalist dictators fighting each other backed by an axis of
liberal democracies and crony oil barons led by the US against Russia,
Iran and its various insurgent armies. This is a truly crazy crazy
microcosm.

Recently VICE did interviews with Obama and Ashton Carter about the
Islamic State titled:
"President Obama On The Islamic State_ The VICE News Interview"
"The Challenge of the Islamic State_ Shane Smith Interviews Ashton
Carter (Part 2)"
What is striking about both these interviews was how their crippled
analysis was no better than mine. How they are so utterly unequipped.
They have no solution. They have no special plan. Only more of the same.

I honestly think ISIS is part of our future. Whether the brand changes
or it becomes a new group, the flavour will remain. Who knows, maybe
even something different elsewhere. However this thing, or concept is
not going anywhere. We are now living with cancer. Time to accept it.

The Zapatista netwar which was actually a failed guerilla movement
magnified many orders of magnitude by an internet led media campaign, is
a notable case study. Wherever disaffected people exist, they can now
advertise their cause. Everyone has spoken widely about the power for
internet and swarming for demonstrations. We've heard stories about the
new form of non-violent action powered by internet.

But how many people have talked about violent action? The potential for
swarming masses to fight wars. After all half of ISIS are foreign
fighters attracted to the vision of recreating an Islamic Caliphate.
Imagine how these people fight vs the soldiers looking to survive and
get a paycheck. We're talking hundreds of thousands ready to die for a
cause.

And amongst this mess, we need to find our ideology that holds us.
Western civilisation as we know it is finished. It cannot deal with the
new threats it faces. It is being torn apart from inside and outside.

Now is the time to continue our legacy. We must project new ideas to
ensure our cultural survival.

The more of us in this struggle, the stronger our ideas. It is the
strength of convictions that holds us.

Only our strength will give us power to defend ourselves in this new future.

The power is within you. It always has been.