ISIS - The scare tactics are much worse than the reality of danger

http://www.alternet.org/fear-america/how-media-and-govt-terrorize-americans-about-isis-and-why-we-shouldnt-be-scared?akid=12975.294211.jL-_dJ&rd=1&src=newsletter1034342&t=3

Fear in America

How the Media and Gov't Terrorize Americans About ISIS -- and Why We Shouldn't Be Scared

Stoking Americans’ fear of the group is not about to stop.

 

 Americans who have successfully joined ISIS also capture a lot of attention. But U.S. officials say there is only 12 U.S. citizens in ISIS. And it’s unlikely they pose much of a threat to the U.S. Chams Eddine Zaougui and Pieter Van Ostaeyen, two scholars studying foreign jihadists in Syria, wrote in the New York Times last year that many foreign fighters want to harm those harming Muslims in Syria. Their focus in on Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian dictator who has killed hundreds of thousands of civilians.“Contrary to what many counterterrorism experts believe, however, ISIS has so far shown no interest in Western targets. The group’s overarching objective is to consolidate its dominion in the Levant, a place of great religious significance,” the scholars wrote.
The evidence is overwhelming: ISIS is not a major threat to the U.S. But the stoking of Americans’ fear of the group is not about to stop. It’s too useful a tool for the U.S. officials committed to bombing Iraq and Syria and extending the never-ending “war on terror.”