Why CIA Loves ISIS

The great advantage with organizations like ISIS, seen from the perspective of game theory, is that it has a strategy that is easy to manipulate. There is hardly a thing ISIS does right in regards to game theory, and the organization would rapidly disintegrate into chaos if left alone.

The CIA has no doubt figured this out, and is for this reason attracted to ISIS and similar fanatic groups. By arming them and keeping them afloat through external funding, CIA can quickly build up armies useful in achieving policy goals. When these goals are met, all they have to do is to leave the group alone and chaos ensues.

There is of course no such thing as total control. The fanatics will at times do things that even the CIA finds a little much. But the overall behavior is reasonably easy to predict.

What should be equally obvious is that the net result of hanging out with losers is never beneficiary over time. However, for those more interested in a quick victory than a long term solution, the ISIS and similar groups are ideal.

Guantanamo Bay detention camp

By Shane T. McCoy, U.S. Navy - (copied from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Camp_x-ray_detainees.jpg so that the image can be used on Wikinews.), Public Domain, Link