The global war against ISIS
amazed at the ability of the terrorist organization ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) to continue to recruit well-educated, middle-class young men. Apparently, many Islamists measure their religious devotion by the way they suppress those whom they view as heretics.
Despite the US- led coalition airstrikes against it, ISIS has achieved unprecedented success on the battlefield while also engaging in violent acts such as mass murder, sexual slavery, and genocide. It has won followers by offering them a sense of community and identity which has proved especially appealing to insecure young men. ISIS followers include foreign fighters from 80 different countries. ISIS often trains its young recruits in how to carry out terrorist attacks, and then sends them back to their home countries to establish terrorist cells.
In September of last year, nine allied countries formed a coalition to fight the Islamic State and, in the words of President Obama, “degrade and destroy” its organization. A US-led airstrike in November managed to hit a gathering of ISIS leaders in northwest Iraq and succeeded in killing a number of their top officials as well as two of their regional commanders.
The Islamic State is noted for its sophisticated use of social media which resonates with a large portion of the Islamic population, especially young men looking for a cause to join. Some are attracted to ISIS simply because it is anti-Western. Many ISIS terrorist attacks on Western businesses and embassies are accompanied with the message that this is in retaliation for Western meddling in the Middle East.
The Islamic State has the distinction of being the richest terrorist organization in the world. Its wealth derives in part from kidnapping for ransom, and, in part, from oil revenues from the oil-fields that the group has taken control over.
A recent United Nations report states that the Islamic State is systematically killing, torturing, and raping children and families of minority groups in Iraq and there have been several cases of mass executions as well as reports of beheadings and crucifixions.
In February of this year, New Zealand announced that it would send troops to Iraq to fight ISIS. Unfortunately for world peace, ISIS is still growing and now has a presence in Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt, and Libya.
The current allied battle plan against the Islamic State consists of the US-led coalition airstrikes, which support local forces on the ground. Egypt has also called upon the United Nations Security Council to form an international coalition to intervene in Libya and form a naval blockade of the area.