ISIS Article
Contents
Introduction 2
Syria 2
Rise of ISIS 2
Private Funding 3
Propaganda 3
Ideology 3
Iraq 3
Corruption 4
Lack of Motivation 4
Indifference of Population 4
Aftermath 4
Current State of Mosul 5
Looking to the future 5
Works Cited 6
Introduction
How could a city of 2 million, with almost 25,000 US-trained deployed troops, fall overnight by 2,500 militia members with little to no formal combat training? No one knows. That answer pretty much sums the whole “ISIS, ISIL, IS” situation. No one really knows how they rose to power and how they were able to “defeat” a large faction of the Iraqi army.
In this article, I will attempt to answer or at least try to answer all these “trending” questions and will try to decipher the secrets of the rise of IS in Syria and in northern Iraq, the current situation, and the potential aftermath of all these events. It is noteworthy to mention that this article will focus on the fall of Mosul as a generalization to northwestern Iraq. This article will not mention Tikrit nor Fallujah for Mosul’s significance is much greater.
Syria
Two Years into the Syrian conflict, the name ISIS started making headlines mainly because of its brutal and gruesome actions. We all remember watching beheadings on national TV by ISIS members and even fearing for our own lives because of such horrific actions. ISIS saw rocketed coverage and plummeted into being the most notorious and feared militia in Syria and was even described by al-Qaeda branch “Jabhat al-Nusra” as being “damaging to the revolution”. (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26016318, 2014)
ISIS was able to seize the city of al-Raqqa in March 2013 and hence controlled Syria’s 6th largest city. The fall of al-Raqqa to ISIS along with the failure of other Syrian opposition factions to get similar achievements served ISIS’ goal of spreading its ideology and thus welcomed different factions under its wing. (Al-Jazeera, 2013)
Rise of ISIS
But why ISIS? The Free Syrian Army
Introduction 2
Syria 2
Rise of ISIS 2
Private Funding 3
Propaganda 3
Ideology 3
Iraq 3
Corruption 4
Lack of Motivation 4
Indifference of Population 4
Aftermath 4
Current State of Mosul 5
Looking to the future 5
Works Cited 6
Introduction
How could a city of 2 million, with almost 25,000 US-trained deployed troops, fall overnight by 2,500 militia members with little to no formal combat training? No one knows. That answer pretty much sums the whole “ISIS, ISIL, IS” situation. No one really knows how they rose to power and how they were able to “defeat” a large faction of the Iraqi army.
In this article, I will attempt to answer or at least try to answer all these “trending” questions and will try to decipher the secrets of the rise of IS in Syria and in northern Iraq, the current situation, and the potential aftermath of all these events. It is noteworthy to mention that this article will focus on the fall of Mosul as a generalization to northwestern Iraq. This article will not mention Tikrit nor Fallujah for Mosul’s significance is much greater.
Syria
Two Years into the Syrian conflict, the name ISIS started making headlines mainly because of its brutal and gruesome actions. We all remember watching beheadings on national TV by ISIS members and even fearing for our own lives because of such horrific actions. ISIS saw rocketed coverage and plummeted into being the most notorious and feared militia in Syria and was even described by al-Qaeda branch “Jabhat al-Nusra” as being “damaging to the revolution”. (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26016318, 2014)
ISIS was able to seize the city of al-Raqqa in March 2013 and hence controlled Syria’s 6th largest city. The fall of al-Raqqa to ISIS along with the failure of other Syrian opposition factions to get similar achievements served ISIS’ goal of spreading its ideology and thus welcomed different factions under its wing. (Al-Jazeera, 2013)
Rise of ISIS
But why ISIS? The Free Syrian Army
Cited: al-Jaffal, O. (2014, June 11). http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/06/iraq-ninevah-fall-reasons-reactions.html. Al-Jazeera. (2013, March 5). http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/03/201334151942410812.html. El-Lami, A. (2014, June 14). http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/20182/. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26016318. (2014, 2 3). Nabeel, G. (2014, August 4). http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/08/03/iraq-mosul-islamic-state-fear/13344551/. Smith-Spark, L. (2014, August 6). http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/06/world/meast/iraq-crisis-minority-persecution/index.html?hpt=hp_t3. Tachibana, Y. (2014, July 9). http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/iraq-turmoil/what-life-iraqs-city-mosul-under-isis-rule-n151461.