For those in the White House at the time there was one epiphanous moment. A military person was giving estimates of enemy strength and of U.S. success against those numbers. Enemy casualties were 32% in this action, 26% in that; 41.7% in this, 24.9% in that. "Wait a minute," somebody said. "That means we've killed 124.6% of the enemy."
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Wikipedia:
Big diff, 52,600 and 257,900.
So I clicked on Military of ISIL, you know, "for more detailed estimates." Since the above numbers are for ISIL generally, the numbers for "Military of ISIL" should be smaller, but possibly, up to 100%, right?
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Wikipedia:
| Strength | Inside Syria and Iraq 200,000[24] (Kurdish claim) 100,000[25] (Jihadist claim) 20,000–31,000[26] (CIA estimate) Outside Syria and Iraq 32,600–57,900 (See Military of ISIL for more detailed estimates.) Estimated total 52,600–257,900 |
|---|
So I clicked on Military of ISIL, you know, "for more detailed estimates." Since the above numbers are for ISIL generally, the numbers for "Military of ISIL" should be smaller, but possibly, up to 100%, right?
| Size |
In Iraq and Syria
200,000[17] (Kurdish claims) 70,000 (Russian military estimate)[18] 100,000[19] (Jihadist claim) 80,000–100,000 [20] (CIA estimate)
Outside Iraq and Syria
1,000[21]–2,000[22] (In Egypt) 1,300–8,000 (In Libya)[23][24] 1,000 (In Algeria)[25][not in citation given] 4,200+ (In Jordan)[26] 3,000 (In Turkey)[27] 300+ (In Afghanistan)[28] 12,500–21,000 (In Pakistan)[29][better source needed] ~1,000 (in Yemen)[6][30] 1,000–4,000 (In Europe)[15][16] 7,000–10,000 (In West Africa)[31][32]
Estimated total:
113,000–318,000 |
|---|
Big diff there too, right? "Wait a minute..." They have no fucking idea.
