The Delusion of the Factions

Over the past week the Iraqi resistance factions have stepped up their attempts to target Israel, with launches of drones on the 15th, 18th and 22nd of September, along with the launch of an Al-Arqab missile on the 22nd.

None of these attempted attacks reached their targets.

Along with the fake claims, they also generate images, such as below, and use the images of their fallen comrades along with fiery rhetoric to rouse their supporters, many of which surely know, their actions failed to achieve their aims.

The fake online imagery mirrors the way posters of the deceased fighters of the terrorist factions are placed across Iraq, this can be compared to the way teenage boys line their walls with pictures of their favourite action hero.

Many in the factions have never grown up, and given they are almost exclusively male, poorly educated and dominate public life in Iraq many streets have a very teenage boys bedroom aesthetic.

From a psychological perspective, these behaviours, in both cases, reflect deeper needs for belonging, identity, and validation, key aspects of radicalisation, for teenagers, putting up posters of celebrities, this serves as a way to express individuality while aligning with a subculture or social group.

Similarly, terrorist factions display images of their dead to assert ideological unity and demonstrate commitment to their cause.

But! The repeated false claims of successful terror attacks on Israel, often without actual victories illustrate a level of immaturity and delusion in these factions.

It mirrors a form of "wishful thinking" or bravado that resembles the exaggerated stories children sometimes tell to gain recognition or prove their worth. In this case, fabricating victories plays into their need to maintain an image of strength, even when the reality suggests otherwise.

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