planned?

In December the Iraqis celebrated as their government announced the end of the war against ISIS. Citizens breathed a sigh of relief. ISIS has been operating across borders, more within what would have in the past been considered the Ottoman Empire. As their power is snuffed out, and women and children who were taken as war brides or birthed as a result are found, a whole new complication arises.

While it’s only been since 2014 that Christian and Yezedi girls were captured, sold in slave markets, and raped by ISIS men as booty, there were other women who believed a lie that if they went as willing brides to these Fighters of Jihad, they were doing good deeds which would gain them access to Paradise. They went proudly and boldly, and often filled social media to their peers, winning other Muslim girls over to fight with ISIS alongside them. It’s not that they took up arms, they kept house for and bore the children of these men, providing the important opportunity to carry on the lineage of a brave warrior for Islam.

As ISIS diminishes, the attacks lessen, but there are still frequent suicide bombs, indicating that these men are in sleeper cells, or that their wives are working the suicide routes on their behalf. This week 31 were murdered and 94 wounded in downtown Baghdad, yet again.

But complications do arise. For these women signed on to be terrorists, and now some of them are demanding that their home nations take them back and protect them. For some regional nations, there’s no question. All widows of ISIS men have been given sanctuary and are being honored for their services. During the war, these men often had their homes just across the border in these countries, so that their women and children could be safe. If these ISIS men suffered wounds, they would come “home” to the local hospital and get immediate attention. Local people actually found it safer to move away from these border towns because the preference for ISIS loyalty was so strong that the government position in support of ISIS was clear.

Other war wives are from western Europe, with leaders who view ISIS as a terrorist organization. As a result, the women are not welcome “home”, for they left against the laws of their nation, and helped terrorists destroy their own nation. Some of these women are now suing their own nations, giving us a glimpse into the complications that arise from war.

But the battle is not over. Perhaps ISIS was tolerated because they were doing the dirty work of regional leaders. The main targets of their violence were Christians and Yezedis. These people found sanctuary in the northern parts of both Syria and Iraq. Interestingly, it was the Kurds who have given them sanctuary. Now the guns are being focused on the Kurds and their region. Not just the ISIS guns, but the big ones. To the east, Iran, persecuting any who become Christian. To the west Turkey, who believes every Kurd is a terrorist. To the north, Russia, agreeing with these two superpowers. To the south, the remaining rubble of Iraq and Syria.

One has to wonder if herding the Christian and Yezedi women into a corner and then weakening the region was part of a bigger plan?