An Iraqi counter-terror official has told Al Arabiya.net that ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has fled Mosul and abandoned his soldiers, “leaving them to die.”
Leaders take far longer to train than foot soldiers. Of course ISIL will pull out their chief people rather than let them go down with the ship.
Did MacArthur get left in the Philippines in 1942 to join his troops in Japanese captivity? No. We pulled him out. And we used him in the rest of the war and in the next war.
Really, sending (or leaving) men to die is the basic description of any fighting leader whether in a legitimate military force or a terrorist group.
For jihadis, of course, being sick murderous thugs is also in the job description:
Islamic State militants are planting bombs near front doors in Mosul to prevent civilians leaving, a federal police commander and witnesses said on Wednesday, as Iraqi forces make their final push against the jihadists after seven months of fighting.
We should kill them all, of course, even if mockery is inappropriate.