Among threats in the Middle East, both the Taliban and the Islamic State have garnered
a majority of US attention.
Although ISIS is relatively new, it has posed a legitimate threat, and is somewhat distracting
from the decades-old Taliban.
So we wanted to take a look at the two, and find out, which is the greater threat?
ISIS or the Taliban?
Well, it is first important to note that although both groups want more power along Sunni Islamist
lines, the scope of their conquest is a little different.
The Taliban, which is predominantly located in Afghanistan and Pakistan, is mostly dedicated
to establishing an Islamic Emirate in those countries.
They already achieved this in Afghanistan in 1996 up until the US invaded and kicked
them out in 2001.
Meanwhile, ISIS has repeatedly announced its intentions to form a “worldwide” Caliphate,
from their bases in Iraq and Syria.
The global intentions of ISIS make it a more dangerous force.
Foreign fighters are more inclined to join, instead of helping in a regional takeover
alone.
While the Taliban may intend to one day run a similar Islamic world, their message is
not as cohesive.
In fact, it is ISIS’s ability to reach out through propaganda and social media that inherently
makes them worse.
While the Taliban reportedly has two spokespersons and a single media arm, ISIS has about fifteen
people working media for every Islamic State province.
Still, while ISIS may release shocking videos of beheadings, it is actually the Taliban
that does most of the killing.
According to records analyzed by Vocativ, on average they are somewhat equal in the
number of attacks per month.
But in terms of actual deaths, the Taliban has been killing nearly 2,000 people a month,
compared to roughly 200 by ISIS.
It is important to note that these stats do not include ISIS’s most recent active time
period, and focuses more on their introductory phase.
Still, attacks like the Taliban’s 2014 raid on a Pakistani school, which killed more than
130 children, are more in line with the group’s aggressive and brutal methods.
In terms of suspected members, the fractured Taliban still dwarfs the more cohesive ISIS.
In late 2014, the CIA reported that ISIS was thought to have about 20-30,000 fighters.
A few months earlier, the Taliban was estimated to have at least twice that figure, with 60,000
fighters..
While ISIS has been rightly compared to the Nazis and Khmer Rouge, it is more accurate
to say that their tactics are focused on developing a fearless reputation.
However, the Taliban, which has been around for a while, and even ruled as a government,
has no real need to shock and awe.
Instead, they are insularly focused on their regional goals, and seem to commit considerably
more murders, with more members.
So although ISIS’s propaganda is exceedingly effective, and may lead to a much more dangerous
group, it appears that the Taliban has been quietly working to be the greater threat.
But since losing power in Afghanistan, the Taliban has slowly made a comeback as an insurgency.
To learn more about how they survived the US invasion, check out our video.
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