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 ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria)aka: IS (Islamic State), ISIL (Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant)Since bursting into international news in 2013-14, ISIS has grabbed the world’s attention and not let go. In the three years since their forces swept across eastern Syria and into Iraq, taking control of Iraqi territory and cities including Mosul and Tikrit and nearly reaching Baghdad, ISIS has gone from being “just another” Sunni terror group to a proto-state, governing territory that includes millions of people. At the same time, ISIS gained supporters and territory in its war against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad as the Syrian Civil War sank deeper and deeper into violence. The leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, declared the creation of a new caliphate, with Raqqa, Syria as its capital; he called for supporters to move to the caliphate and join in the fight and has seen tens of thousands of supporters from across the Muslim world and beyond, relocate to ISIS-controlled territory and join the fight to expand its borders and influence.ISIS originally developed out of the Iraq War. It began as al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), a Sunni jihadist group, inspired by al Qaeda and aimed at ending the U.S occupation of Iraq that followed the 2003 invasion. AQI was created by a Jordanian jihadist, Abu Musab al-Zarkawi, and attracted Sunni fighters from across the Middle East to join in the fight against U.S. forces and against Shiite Iraq. They relied heavily on improvised explosive devices, car bombs, and suicide bombers that killed hundreds of Americans and thousands of Iraqis between 2004 and 2009, before a shift in U.S. strategy helped to drive a wedge between AQI and Sunni Iraqis. AQI was forced to retreat into the deserts of western Iraq and eastern Syria and seemed weakened by the loss of their leader, Zarkawi, in a U.S. airstrike.However, AQI never fully disappeared and the outbreak of civil war in Syria created the opportunity for the group to assert itself and claim new relevance. A series of prison breaks helped AQI to rebuild its membership just as the expanding violence in Syria offered the chance to gain combat experience and re-cast its image as an organization devoted to defending Sunnis against abusive Shiite governments. AQI fighters became a mixture of three groups: Iraqi Sunnis who had fought the U.S. and Iraqi Shiite government, Syrian rebels, and foreign recruits. After a split with al Qaeda leadership over the targeting of Muslim civilians, the group changed its name and became the Islamic State. They found increasing success on the Syrian front and began receiving more funds from sympathetic Sunni Arab governments, eager to see Syrian President Bashar al-Assad overthrown (and the influence of Shiite Iran reduced). The group pushed aside many smaller rebel groups in Syria and took control of Sunni towns and cities in eastern Syria.ISIS’ growth has provoked a range of responses by different nations. Syria has fought ISIS at every step and used the group’s terrorist roots and actions as a means of discouraging the U.S. and Europe from supplying money and arms to any rebel group. ISIS success inside of Syria led to an ISIS offensive into western Iraq in 2014 and this provoked a military response by the United States. U.S. airstrikes initially focused on ISIS forces in Iraq but grew to include targets inside of Syria. Joining the U.S. in these actions were allies from Europe and the Middle East, including France, Britain, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates, but the vast majority of flights continue to be carried out by American forces. There is also strong suspicion among many Western nations that Saudi Arabia and other Arab states continue to provide money and weapons to ISIS for their fight against Assad.The growing pressure on ISIS provoked a series of new attacks outside of Syria and Iraq, and a shift toward the use of terror tactics. ISIS has increasingly displaced al Qaeda as the most feared Islamist terror organization; the group launched attacks across Iraq, in Turkey, and even claimed responsibility for bringing down an airliner in Egypt. ISIS attacks spread to Europe in 2014 as well as Australia, Canada, and the United States. Some of these attacks were carried out by militants trained in Syria who then entered Europe, while others were carried out by ISIS-sympathizers who radicalized at home and responded to the ISIS call for action. The most deadly of these attacks include those in Paris, which killed 130 people and bombings in Iraq that have killed hundreds more. The rise of ISIS as the leading Sunni jihadist group has allowed it to attract even more followers and inspire more violent attacks; there are now dozens of other groups across the Middle East and the world proclaiming their allegiance – including groups in Egypt, Afghanistan, Libya, the Philippines, and Nigeria.In the territory under their control, ISIS has replaced local government with their own and announced laws they claim are based in strict interpretation of the Quran. The ISIS version of Sharia has led to the imposition of the veil in all towns and cities under their control, the emergence of a new slave trade, and the execution of individuals accused of homosexuality. Minority groups in ISIS-controlled territory face particularly harsh treatment – Iraqi Shiites have been the victims of mass executions and Yazidi Iraqis (a non-Muslim minority) were murdered and enslaved by ISIS. Yazidi women and girls have been forced into sexual slavery and ISIS leaders have explicitly justified the practice and used the promise of sex slaves as a recruitment tool. Christians in Syria have been targets of ISIS violence and Christian churches have been destroyed. ISIS has also used torture and execution as a punishment for foreign prisoners; this includes the beheading of kidnapped journalists and aid workers and the immolation of a Jordanian Air Force pilot in 2015.Since 2016, ISIS has been in steady retreat. The combination of airstrikes and ground attacks have forced ISIS to give up more and more territory in Syria and Iraq. In western Syria, this has, in part, been the result of Russian assistance to the Assad government and its army. In northern Syria, Kurdish ground forces and U.S. airstrikes have combined to push back ISIS, and many have described the Kurds as the most effective ground force against the Islamic State. The end result is that, by 2018, ISIS controlled no territory in Iraq or Syria, though many ISIS fighters and sympathizers still remain.In December, 2018, President Trump announced the withdrawal of US troops from Syria. Some reports speculate that the US withdrawal will open space for the estimated 30,000 ISIS fighters to regroup and for Russia and Iran to increase their influence in Syria, while leaving US allies in the region-the Kurds and Israel-to fend for themselves.NEGOTIATING QUESTIONS:1. It is evident that Bashar al-Assad will hold on to power in Syria despite the civil war. He is accused of many war crimes, including using chemical weapons against his own people. How much are Arab states and Western allies willing to cooperate with Syria to limit the resurgence of ISIS and prevent it from continuing to plan international attacks from its bases inside Syria? Are Syria, Iran, Russia and Hezbollah able to restrain ISIS?2. What measures can Sunni Arab states take to prevent future radicalization and the resurgence of ISIS or al Qaeda, or the emergence of a new jihadist terror group? 3. Is there a way to create a regional deal that would allow power-sharing between Sunnis and Shiites in Syria and Iraq, and reduce Sunni grievances?4. What should happen to captured ISIS fighters? Both Turkey and the Kurds are threatening to release them and send them back to their home countries. Most countries have refused repatriation. Should the prisoners be sent back to their home countries? Where should they be tried? In the International Court or in Syria or Iraq, where they may face torture or execution? And what should happen to the families of ISIS fighters, women and children, who are held in prison camps currently?Recent News (Start here)Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ISIS leader, killed Future of ISIS Will Deport ISIS Detainees Holding ISIS Prisoners Plan for ISIS Prisoners of ISIS Prisoners 19/10/26/in-syria-the-women-and-children-of-isis-have-been-forgotten/BACKGROUND SOURCESTrump is pulling all US ground troops from Syria: That could be a boon to Iran, ISIS, and Russia. U.S. Troop Exit From Syria Would Exacerbate Regional Instability ISIS army smuggled a fortune in cash and gold out of Iraq and Syria Welcomes U.S. Withdrawal From Syria as ‘Correct’’s official. We lost the Cold War. is the US pulling out of Syria? Jazeera: ISIS News: "The Rise of ISIS, Explained in 6 Minutes" News: “The Islamic State – Where Key Countries Stand” News: “Islamic State and the Crisis in Iraq and Syria in Maps” – Times Topics: Syria (a single page with links to all NYTimes articles about ISIS) Atlantic: “How ISIS Spread in the Middle East” on Foreign Relations – “CFR Backgrounder” – memo on the Islamic State Frontline: "The Rise of ISIS" (an hour-long documentary) Frontline: "The Secret History of ISIS" (an hour-long follow-up documentary) Guardian: "The Battle for Mosul in Maps - How the Offensive Has Slowed" Street Journal - "What Happens After ISIS Falls?" Yorker: “After the Islamic State” by Robin Wright Center: “Timeline – The Rise and Spread of the Islamic State”: “How the ‘Kurdish Question’ Complicates the Anti-ISIS Alliance”: “War on ISIS: Why Arab States Aren’t Doing More” News: “The Islamic State – Full Length” (40 minute video) Project: “ISIS” Guardian: “Why ISIS Fights” Post: “You Can't Understand ISIS If You Don't Know the History of Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia”: “Maps that Explain ISIS” Atlantic: "How ISIS Spread in the Middle East’: The Response,” Center for American Progress: "Defeating ISIS: An Integrated Strategy to Advance Middle East Stability," Republic: “We Can’t Destroy ISIS Without Destroying Bashar al Assad US Strike on Syria Would Help Jihadists, Not Secular Opposition Al-Arabiya: “Doubt Lingers over Turkey’s Stance on Fighting ISIS” Turkey Backs ISIS to Eliminate Assad ................
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