Why Calling Daesh/ISIS a Mind Control Cult is of Strategic and Practical Importance

This morning, The New York Times published an article entitled “Radicalization of a Belgium Student Turned Bomb Maker Was Invisible.” This piece, written by Alissa J. Rubin, details the conversion of 24-year-old Najim Laachraoui, one of the suicide bombers responsible for the attack of the Belgium airport on March 22. Rubin cites associates and family members of Laachraoui, who all say that while he leaned toward a strict version of Islam, and they did notice changes in his ideology and behavior, they never suspected he would be capable of such violent acts. By all accounts, before his conversion Laachraoui was not a violent person, he was not unstable, and he was not sympathetic to those professing hate. It’s very likely that a young Laachraoui would have been appalled by the thought of becoming a suicide bomber. So, what happened?