ISIS Decapitating, Raping in Iraq and Syria—U.S. Media Silent

If you are someone who keeps an eye on world events, you’ve probably heard all about isis: the terrorist jihadist organization that has been taking over parts of Iraq.

You probably know that isis stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, that it derived from Al Qaeda in Iraq, and that it claims to be a caliphate that exercises authority over Muslims. You may have even seen the map of nearly 70 countries it plans to conquer by 2019.

But have you heard everything about isis? Have you been told just howisis is taking over parts of Iraq and Syria?

New York Times columnist Alissa J. Rubin reported on this story from Iraq and described isis fighters driving out Iraq’s Yazidi minority from their homes and setting up roadblocks. The Yazidis, meanwhile, are trying to walk over the Sinjar Mountains to get away.

Rubin gives us insight into what happened to one family, the Caros, at a roadblock a week ago. She recounted Mr. Caro’s story: “When the fighters, who were masked, approached the car, everyone fell silent, said Mr. Caro, fearing that they would be shot.” According to Caro, “They were polite, they didn’t shout or say bad words. They just asked us to become Muslims.” Their refusal meant the gunmen would not let them pass, so the Caros fled to the mountains.

“Demands for conversion are a core demand of isis fighters when dealing with non-Muslim minorities,” Rubin continued. She concluded by saying that Christians have faced the same demands and that isis fighters have killed at least 500 Yazidis this month.

Five hundred Yazidis killed just this month—and the Caro family story is what the New York Times chooses to highlight. Masked gunmen who are polite. A radical jihadist rogue state that “asks” people to convert to Islam.

This story is typical of how American media has been reporting about isis and what is happening in Iraq and Syria. Maybe this particular instance is true, but describing polite jihadi gunmen and then briefly mentioning hundreds of deaths as a statistical afterthought does not reflect what is actually happening in Iraq right now.

You need to know what happened in Iraq this past week. You need to know what’s happening there right now. It is bloody; it is gruesome; it is horrific and it’s not what you’ve been seeing on your nightly news.