Welcome to Generational War

Spread of ISIS and Transnational Terrorism / Welcome to Generational War

Introduction

The massacres in the Brussels attack and recent San Bernardino and Paris attacks were horrific. They are reminders of the sophisticated threats the world faces from transnational terrorist groups. The attacks are also a call for action against the ongoing fight against terrorism. The attacks add importance to analyzing the threats and the measures needed to counter both local and transnational terrorist groups (United States, 2018). ISIS is the most urgent security threat worldwide. The terrorist group has taken advantage of the Syrian conflict and Iraq’s sectarian tensions to spread in both nations. Today, the group has penetrated the middle of the Middle East geography. The terrorist group makes use of both insurgent and terrorist strategies to seize and govern its territory.

ISIS uses the same tactics to secure allied North African and Middle Eastern terrorist groups’ allegiance. The sanctuary of ISIS allows it to recruit people and train them, and even launch attacks on external territories or nations, as in Europe. Its sanctuary also allows it to incite assailants around the globe. The terrorist group has recruited thousands of militants from the Middle East and surrounding regions to join its regional fight (United States, 2018). ISIS also uses propaganda campaigns to radicalize youth from the West.

Similarly, al-Qaida and its affiliate terrorist groups continue to be a threat worldwide. They maintain the capacity and intent to launch attacks in the West. This paper focuses on the nature of the terrorist threat that ISIS and other transnational terrorist groups pose, focusing on the spread of ISIS; it also discusses some strategies to degrade and defeat the militia groups (Unites States, 2018).

The Spread of ISIS

ISIS has its roots in Iraq; Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi, a veteran Sunni terrorist, started the group in 2004, pledging allegiance to Osama bin Laden. At that time, the Al Qaeda in Iraq (its initial name) targeted U.S. forces and civilians to pressure the United States of America and other nations to exit Iraq (Unknown & 3M Company, 2011). The group gained a reputation for its tyranny and brutality. It continued to target and repress Iraqi Sunni civilians in 2007, causing a widespread counterattack against the group. The backlash was known as the Sunni Awakening. During this time, there was coincidentally an increase in counterterrorism operations that prevented ISIS from carrying out its planned attack. The operations also led to a decline in terrorist attacks by the group. The U.S. and its coalition forces, including Iraq, were behind the counterterrorism operations against ISIS and affiliated groups (Unites States, 2018).

The terrorist group started to reconstitute itself in 2011 amid the Syrian civil war and the growing Sunni discontent. ISIS launched about 5 to 10 suicidal attacks in Iraq every month in 2012. The number of attacks grew to 30-40 suicidal attacks every month in 2013. The terrorist group took advantage of the Syrian chaos and conflicts that strengthened its Iraqi presence to spread across the border. The al-Nusrah Front was started to cover ISIS operations in Syria (the United States, 2018). However, ISIS later declared its presence in Syria to the public in April 2013. Immediately, the leaders of al-Nusrah rejected the announcement and pledged allegiance to al-Qaida instead. Later in February 2014, al-Qaida announced that ISIS ceased to be an allied group.

During the same period, ISIS worked even harder to remove the control of the Syrian and Iraqi governments from important parts of their territories. In January 2014, ISIS had seized Syria, Raqqa, Iraq, and Fallujah (Unknown & 3M Company, 2011). The terrorist group moved from its haven in Syria, spreading across Iraq’s northern regions. In June 2014, it killed thousands of Iraqi Sunni, Muslims, and Shia to seize Mosul. The group gained equipment, weaponry, and territory, including an extensive war chest to win the battles. The terrorist group declared the creation of an “Islamic State,” an Islamic caliphate, in the summer of 2014. It requested all Muslims to support the group and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, its leader (United States, 2018).

Three major factors led to the ride and successful spread of ISIS. The group took advantage of the Syrian civil war and lack of security in the northern parts of Iraq to create a haven. Simultaneously, Assad brutally suppressed the people of Syria, drawing foreign fighters and extremists to the country. The withdrawal of security forces in western Iraq when military forces first engaged the terrorist group left most sections of the territory ungoverned. The group created Iraqi and Syrian sanctuaries in these regions, using them as points to collect resources and coordinate fighters without much interference (Mendelsohn, 2016). ISIS moved supplies and recruits easily across the Iraq-Syria border within its seized territories due to a lack of security forces.

Secondly, the terrorist group has shown that it can fight effectively. The force uses hit-and-run tactics, terrorist operations, and paramilitary assaults on the battlefield, explaining its rapid gains and success. In turn, the group’s advances on the battlefield led to the rise of other Sunni insurgents. The latter has helped the former to seize and control the territory (Sageman, 2008). The Sunnis who have been disaffected have had few to no options in Syria and Iraq. The two countries’ governments have sidelined them in politics for many years and failed to solve their grievances. As a result, ISIS has recruited many Sunnis youth to join the group. Although the military coalition led by the U.S. has stopped the momentum of ISIS and even reversed its territorial gains since September 2014, the group persistently deploys its strategies even with ongoing coalition airstrikes (Mendelsohn, 2016).

Thirdly, the transnational terrorist group perceives itself as the new global jihad leader. This has seen the group create an unprecedented communication ability to stay connected with its followers worldwide. Unlike any other terrorist group, ISIS runs the most complex propaganda machine. It distributes timely media content of high quality on diverse platforms, including social media. This is meant to help it amass more followers worldwide. The group touts its military capabilities, victories on the battlefield, and executions of soldiers it captures across various media (Sageman, 2008).

The transnational terrorist group’s media campaign is also meant to lure foreign fighters to join the group, mostly from Western nations. The campaign also enables the group to recruit new fighters to launch inspired or independent attacks in the West. The group popularly uses outlets to spread its propaganda include active Twitter feeds, multiple websites, online chat rooms, and YouTube channels. ISIS radicalizes and mobilizes prospective recruits worldwide, including the United States, using the platforms (Sageman, 2008). Supporters of the terrorist group have maintained the momentum on social media, encouraging attacks in the U.S. and against its interests in retaliation to its airstrikes. ISIS can outpace al-Qaida as the prominent influence voice in worldwide extremist movements.

Strategies to Confront and Defeat ISIS and Transnational Terrorism

Many strategies can be deployed to defeat ISIS and other transnational terrorist groups. Although ISIS seems formidable, it is vulnerable. The military campaign led by the U.S. has already killed ISIS fighters in thousands and reversed their Syrian and Iraqi territorial gains. The group has failed to seize major strategic military victories in Syria and Iraq for some years now since 2016. The group’s claim to have created the “caliphate” will be eroded as it loses its hold in Syrian and Iraqi territories, eventually losing its appeal. In line with the U.S. Department of Defense, twelve countries formed a coalition that launched over 8,700 airstrikes in Iraq and Syria (Mendelsohn, 2016). The strikes have destroyed various militia targets, including ISIS weaponry, vehicles, oil infrastructure, training camps, and artillery positions. Moreover, more nations have joined the U.S. and deployed their military personnel to support the government of Iraq in training over 17,000 security forces of Iraq (United States, 2018).

The use of the military has also successfully targeted the leaders of ISIS. The special operations forces of the U.S. have deployed intelligence gathering, set up local forces, and targeted ISIS leaders and operatives of high value in support of the fight against ISIS in Syria as part of its military effort against the transnational terrorist group. The U.S. also has counterterrorism measures in place, including disrupting the financial networks of ISIS and ceasing the movement of foreign fighters to Syria. It is also strengthening its efforts to stop ISIS from radicalizing and mobilizing recruits from across the globe to counteract ISIS propaganda (Mendelsohn, 2016). The U.S. is also leading international diplomatic efforts to address the underlying civil war and conflicts in the region. It involves a negotiated political transition that eliminates Bashar al-Asad from power to create a responsive and inclusive government with Syrians’ needs at heart. Supporting the government of Iraq towards inclusive and effective governance, reconciliation, and stabilization of efforts is also part of the diplomatic strategy (United States, 2018).