a majority of US attention. Although ISIS is relatively new, it has posed a legitimate

threat, and is somewhat distracting from the decades-old Taliban. So we wanted to take

a look at the two, and find out, which is the greater threat? ISIS or the Taliban?

Well, it is first important to note that although both groups want more power along Sunni Islamist

lines, the scope of their conquest is a little different. The Taliban, which is predominantly

located in Afghanistan and Pakistan, is mostly dedicated to establishing an Islamic Emirate

in those countries. They already achieved this in Afghanistan in 1996 up until the US

invaded and kicked them out in 2001. Meanwhile, ISIS has repeatedly announced its intentions

to form a “worldwide” Caliphate, from their bases in Iraq and Syria. The global

intentions of ISIS make it a more dangerous force. Foreign fighters are more inclined

to join, instead of helping in a regional takeover alone. While the Taliban may intend

to one day run a similar Islamic world, their message is not as cohesive.

In fact, it is ISIS’s ability to reach out through propaganda and social media that inherently

makes them worse. While the Taliban reportedly has two spokespersons and a single media arm,

ISIS has about fifteen people working media for every Islamic State province.

Still, while ISIS may release shocking videos of beheadings, it is actually the Taliban

that does most of the killing. According to records analyzed by Vocativ, on average they

are somewhat equal in the number of attacks per month. But in terms of actual deaths,

the Taliban has been killing nearly 2,000 people a month, compared to roughly 200 by

ISIS. It is important to note that these stats do not include ISIS’s most recent active

time period, and focuses more on their introductory phase. Still, attacks like the Taliban’s

2014 raid on a Pakistani school, which killed more than 130 children, are more in line with

the group’s aggressive and brutal methods.

In terms of suspected members, the fractured Taliban still dwarfs the more cohesive ISIS.

In late 2014, the CIA reported that ISIS was thought to have about 20-30,000 fighters.

A few months earlier, the Taliban was estimated to have at least twice that figure, with 60,000

fighters..

While ISIS has been rightly compared to the Nazis and Khmer Rouge, it is more accurate

to say that their tactics are focused on developing a fearless reputation. However, the Taliban,

which has been around for a while, and even ruled as a government, has no real need to

shock and awe. Instead, they are insularly focused on their regional goals, and seem

to commit considerably more murders, with more members. So although ISIS’s propaganda

is exceedingly effective, and may lead to a much more dangerous group, it appears that

the Taliban has been quietly working to be the greater threat.

But since losing power in Afghanistan, the Taliban has slowly made a comeback as an insurgency.

To learn more about how they survived the US invasion, check out our video. Thanks for

watching! Make sure to like and subscribe to TestTube News so you don’t miss out on

new videos.