There was an article posted here a few weeks ago, written by a man who was held captive by ISIS for a long time. He said that he learned their ultimate goal has nothing to do with our culture or freedom. They believe armageddon is coming, that it is literaly going to be a big battle in a particular town in Syria near the Turkish border, and that the West is the enemy (descendants of the Roman empire) that their Moslem army must defeat. The terrorist acts are intended to force this battle to commence, which they are confident they will win.<p>If they really believe this, I&#x27;m stunned at how oblivious they are. If an all-out battle really took place, they wouldn&#x27;t face an army. They&#x27;d face an airforce that&#x27;d be a lot more aggressive than the one they&#x27;re currently facing. The US and Russia could turn Syria into a sheet of radioactive glass if they wanted to &#x2F; had to in order to &quot;win armageddon&quot;. The only reason ISIS is able to continue to exist is because of our tolerance and compassion.