It Is the ISIS Way

ISIS Official Killed in U.S. Raid in Syria, Pentagon Says, Was In Charge Of Oil And Gas Sales, read Marquel, TPVs NYTimes Death of a Salesman Section correspondent. Marquel thought this probably showed the irrelevance of being well-liked under the Pentagon’s and CIAs new rules. A drone is hardly going to step on the brakes just because the target is well-liked. It’s enough to make you cry, which is what Marquel does predictably every time he goes to see a new production of the Arthur Miller iconic work. Then he wonders whether it really is a great work or just a sappy tear jerker. He can never decide.

But killing Isis no 2 man, even if he was just an oil and gas salesman, sounded impressive. On the other hand, if the number two man is a salesman, what are numbers three and four? Waiters? What’s this ISIS all about? Is it just a huge inflated Arab souk, bent on bargaining its way to another Arab spring? Marquel was profoundly confused. For a religious movement, Isis seems terribly materialistic with Willy Loman in the number two seat. And Mr. One? A stockbroker? Trader?

The whole thing sounded unreal. Marquel went to Queens and had coffee with some newly arrived Syrians. He didn’t ask them if they were ISIS but most of the talk was about meeting quotas, customer lists, and “the importance of being well liked.”

Marquel asked what Mr. Two had been like.

“He was on his last legs. Selling Oil and gas all your life can be deénervating. He told me a dozen times how he was going to Africa, or South America, or even Wisconsin to strike it rich. Basically his numbers were down and he was about to be fired. He was a phoney.” Said one, Abab.

“If he was just a lousy salesman, what was he doing in the number two spot at ISIS?” Marquel asked.

“He had been a really good salesman but he always had these dreams of making it bigger. People get alienated by that, as if their business is unimportant.” Said Abab.

“But what about the rest of ISIS with a salesman at number two?”  Asked Marquel.

“Basically, with few exceptions most of the leadership is salesmen. When we group for an assault outside a city, it’s time to get sales reports and to cheer the leaders on to bigger and better profits. They know how to sell.” Said Abab.

“But what is all this head cutting and destroying artifacts, and murdering children and mothers?” I asked.

“This we learned from the Americans. They are the biggest oil and gas salespeople in the world. As they say, you can’t make an omelette without breaking an egg. We can’t sell oil and gas without chopping off a head or two. Both of us know that the secret to sales is violence. It’s the American way. It’s also the ISIS way.”

***

By MARQUEL: This Is the ISIS Way