ISIS has revelled in its brutality. Reports of ISIS fighters, jihadist terrorists and insurgents fuelled by drugs on their murderous rampages have generated outrage and astonishment. The vision of intoxicated jihadists adds an almost inconceivable level of fright, but it should not. There is nothing exceptional in ISIS fighters popping pills. Drugs and warfare have always gone hand in hand – from Homeric warriors to Wehrmacht troops, and more recently US pilots during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Though the use of intoxicants by non-Western irregulars is often portrayed in the media as unique, the fact is that Western soldiers have been fighting while high for much of history.
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