Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism
Assignment 1: Comparison of Al Qaeda and Islamic State
The conventional thinking on the issue of terrorism in the United States is covered with various misconceptions. These prevalent misunderstandings on this issue are embedded on the public perception on the terrorism. The dominant fallacy on the issue of terrorism is on the idea that terrorist organizations are similar especially the Islamic organizations. The two major terrorist groups that people fail to differentiate and often mistake them are the Al Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Despite the fact that the ISIS has some origin in the Al Qaeda, it is clear that ISIS is not Al Qaeda (Burke, 2014). This is true due to the fact the two groups are not in good terms, as tension exists between the two groups. As a result, the mode of leadership, goals, and tactics used by these two organizations are different. As such, the aim of this essay is to compare and contrast between al-Qaeda and ISIS and assess which group between the two will last longer in future.
The origin of these two groups is one of the major difference between them. The source of al Qaeda is on the anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan where the former Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden with his colleagues decided to take the victory of the Soviet to higher levels (Burke, 2014). This was the goal achieved by creating a network of taking jihad organization global. The goal of this movement by Bin Laden was to create an umbrella of an elite fighter of the jihad across the globe where both small and mighty Jihadist would unite as a single group to fight their regimes (Burke, 2014). The local jihadist was supposed to pledge their allegiance to the Bin Laden for them to access a huge pool of assets such as weapon, money, expertise, Al Qaeda training, and logistical support. The 9/11 attack and bombing of two US embassies in Africa were a key indicator of the power, reach, sheer audacity, and capability of the organization.
The ISIS, on the other hand, started as an Iraqi organization, a phenomenon that shapes its movement to date. This group thrived in Iraq after the US invasion in 2003 that lead to the merging of the Abu Musab al-Zarqawi who was a jihadist from Jordan (Cockburn, 2015). Zarqawi refused to pledge his loyalty to the Bin Laden even after being sponsored by Bin Laden and sharing his goals with his group, as he purposed to run the group independently (Cockburn, 2015). This marks the key difference between the two organizations, as even after Zarqawi pledged his loyalty later, he did not agree on the goals of the al Qaeda (Holbrook, 2015).
Differences
Goals
The goals of these two groups is another major difference. The purpose of al Qaeda under the Bin Laden’s leadership was to target the United States. This is evident from the three major attacks made by the al Qaeda to the U.S. two of them in the American embassies in Africa and the other on September 11, 2001, in the America commonly known as 9/11. These attacks were the key indicator that the al Qaeda’s target was Americans and their allies. As such, the focus of al Qaeda has remained the Western countries with the America at the core of these attacks (Burke, 2014). However, the goal of ISIS as highlighted by Zarqawi and the leaders who followed was to wage ware and fight against on the Sunni Muslims (Cockburn, 2015). It was the belief of Zarqawi that violence was the only thing that would have alienated the Sunnis from their project. This shows that the focus of ISIS was the battle at home especially the Iraq, Syria, and their environs, unlike the al Qaeda who focused on the Western nations.
Tactic
Moreover, the ISIS focused on the use of horror images meant to intimidate their enemies. This was a successive tactic of instilling fear to their enemies in Iraq and Syria; thus achieving their military victories (Hosken, 2015). Zarqawi focused on the use of incredible brutality allowing him to make the name of the group gruesome behind the camera and the videos they used (Cockburn, 2015). However, the al Qaeda focused on the use of attacks as the effective strategy of instilling fear to their targets (Burke, 2014). This is evident in the American culture where the name al Qaeda is synonymously used as attacks especially after the 9/11 event.
The use of these attacks is meant to convince the Americans that they need to withdraw from the Islamic world. In addition, the al Qaeda spreads propaganda to the Muslims trying to convince them that jihad is the best in adopting and implementing the al Qaeda’s goals; thus the need for them to give up their local ones and join the al Qaeda. Despite the use of similar tactics, the strategy of ISIS is to control their territory and expand their position (Cockburn, 2015). With such motive, the ISIS aims at establishing a government led by the Islamic law as well as creating an Islamic state that embraces the group.
Media
The two groups have different perspectives on the use of media to spread their effect. The ISIS utilizes the media to spread its effect while Al Qaeda barely used media before learning this tactic from the ISIS (Cockburn, 2015). Moreover, ISIS relied on the use of simple language on the social media for their targets to understand while the al Qaeda used the old style embraced by the Bin Laden who gave a speech in favor of the Arabs after the 9/11 attack.
Purpose
The purpose of each of the group is different that later determines their strategies. For the ISIS, the prime purpose was to stop the Sunnis and impose the Islamic laws and regulations. The Al Qaeda, on the other hand, focused on the activities of jihad. In this case, the ISIS believed that Islam was the solution to this problem, which is not the case with the Al Qaeda who believed in bombings (Habeck, 2008). This reveals that the ISIS focuses on the near enemy unlike the Al Qaeda whose focus on the far enemy. In facilitating this mission, ISIS aimed at attacking the apostate regimes within the Arab world. Nevertheless, the Al Qaeda’ apostate regime was the United States, who according to this group were the key cause of the Middle East’s problems (Habeck, 2008). As such, the Al Qaeda believed that by eliminating the Americans would leave the regimes in the Middle East vulnerable to attacks, which would be simple for the al Qaeda to control (Burke, 2014). The ISIS does not see the Americans as the greater danger compared to the al Qaeda following the withdrawal of the American soldiers in Syria.
Finances
The two groups differ from the source of finances to sponsor their activities. The ISIS shows some financial brain compared to the al Qaeda that focuses on the largesse of Bin Laden (Schweitzer, 2006). The major source of income for the ISIS is selling of crude oil from Syrian and Iraq’s wells to the intermediaries and local truckers. Besides, the Islamic State obtain taxes in the territories under their control as well as Christians and other religious minority groups that have not yet fled incurring extra tax (Weiss & Ḥasan, 2015). The source of al Qaeda’s finance is from the kidnapping of the American and European citizens where they ask for a huge amount of money for them to release these individuals.
The Fight for Affiliates
After the 9/11 experience, the al Qaeda attempted to expand its influence in the Islamic world where it started creating new affiliates. As a result, the Al Qaeda established a relationship with various groups in Tunisia, India, and Caucasus (Schweitzer, 2006). The Islamic State also took part in this battle where they established a relationship with the jihad groups in Afghanistan, Libya, Algeria, Yemen, Sinai, and Pakistan (Kydd & Walter, 2006). The two have established good relationships with the jihad groups where AQAP in Yemen used chaos to free the imprisoned militants. The Islamic State, on the other hand, has gained support from prominent jihad groups such as Boko Haram in Nigeria.
Leadership
A group of leaders who implemented different leadership styles leads the Islamic States. The Bin Laden and his colleagues run the al Qaeda. The group leadership style used in the ISIS has constituted to the implementation of viable moves that have seen through the success of this group. For instance, ISIS is situated in various locations to facilitate their ruling and activities (Cockburn, 2015), unlike the al Qaeda who operates in a single point that constituted to capturing of their leader Bin Laden. The use of group leadership style is efficient compared to an individual style used by the al Qaeda. This is evident since the power and influence of the al Qaeda reduced after their leader Bin Laden was killed by the Americans.
Perception of Women
The two groups have a different perception of women in a society that determine the way they treat them. The al Qaeda have a moderate view on women; thus, they support them in the society by educating them more than they do to men (Schweitzer, 2006). This follows the believe that jihad women should support the efforts made by men in the military where they offer support and even support them in terms of finances. However, this is not the case with the ISIS as they have an utter disregard to them. This is due to their view as possessions rather than human. As a result, the Islamic State subject women to oppression used to create a brutal treatment of the oppressors by using them for sexual assault, organized rape, and forced marriages (Cockburn, 2015).
Growth
The progress bar of these two groups is different in various perspectives. The al Qaeda has taken advantage of the unsuccessful revolution attempts by ISIS in Syria and has moved to the areas the already mobilized areas by ISIS such as Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia (Weiss & Ḥasan, 2015). As a result, the Al Qaeda has made a significant presence in these areas where there is a conducive environment for the growth of jihadism. Moreover, al Qaeda has moved to the new areas in the quest for repairing its reputation that has been damaged by the AQI and outsources new population in these areas (Salama & Hansell, 2007). To accomplish this task, the al Qaeda has employed gradualism as well as facilitated cooperation with the local actors to reduce the counterinsurgent forces in these areas and avoid frightening the local population.
However, the Islamic State employs different strategies to support their growth in the jihadist and Islamic regions. First, the group portrays the moves or the attempts made by their rival al Qaeda as being weak and indecisive. Second, the ISIS enticed the al Qaeda’s affiliates by stressing on its expansion capability with the goal of poaching potential recruits, members, and groups from these affiliates (Salama & Hansell, 2007). Evidently, the Islamic State growth strategies used are opposite to those used by the al Qaeda. While the al Qaeda is focusing on reducing the exposure of the counterinsurgents to the locals, the ISIS seeks the spotlight and uses it to publicize its victory. With such an attempt, the al Qaeda’s strategic approaches are turned into weaknesses.
Governance
The mode of governance of these two groups is different. The Islamic State implements the Sharia governance used to facilitate the caliphate’s legitimacy. After it had captured territories in Syria and Iraq, Islamic State started governance structures revealed the power that it has in providing social services to the locals. Along with this establishment, the ISIS used hudud punishment to enforce the serious version of sharia. This was meant to facilitate the forceful violence form of government to facilitate the Islamic State governance. This has resulted to throwing of gay people, beheading the traitors, stoning adulterous women and cutting off the hands of thieves (Furnish, 2005). However, the form of governance used by al Qaeda is different in that they are slower and methodical in the imposition of sharia. The implementation of Sharia according to the al Qaeda should be tailored depending on the local conditions by taking into consideration the religious practices and local customs of each region that its affiliates is operating (Gunaratna, 2003). As a result, the Al Qaeda affiliates have tolerated some of the minor practices by forgiving the transgressions while punishing in public for serious offenses. For instance, the Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria has publicly banned cigarette smoking and punished the fighters who have harmed the local residents.
Military Strategy
Both Islamic State and al Qaeda differ in the form of military strategy they employ to carry their activities. The Islamic State uses an aggressive approach to acquiring territories. The use of force-on-force warfare strategy have granted the Islamic State a chance to acquire major territories at ease; thus allowing the organization to increase the rate at which it is acquiring new regions. Despite the various instances that the Islamic State has incurred military setbacks, it has exploited irregular warfare that has revealed its capability to adapt to various conditions. However, the al Qaeda makes use of covert activities that are meant to shape the worldview of this organization (Gunaratna, 2003). Al Qaeda has masked itself from the upcoming global attacks as well as concealing the size of its network as a way of downsizing its capabilities. Moreover, the organization has hidden its involvement in the upcoming theaters of conflict and as a result established a covert relationship with unknown affiliates such as AST. This move is made by the al Qaeda has made people underestimate its power, yet it is still powerful. The strategy has also allowed the organization to attract resources from entities and individuals while still winning support from the public.
Similarities
Despite the outstanding differences between these groups as discussed above, there are some common aspects between them.
Overall Goal
The first similarity relates to their overall goal, which is to establish an Islamic state that will be governed by the Sharia Law. The al Qaeda main focus is attacking the United States as they believe that they contaminate their religion; thus they wish that the Americans together with their influence should withdraw from the Islamic world (Burke, 2014). Therefore, by weakening, the influence of the America and its allies will lead to the establishment of a Caliphate. The Islamic State targets Shia Muslims who are their enemy together with other bodies and individuals that limit their influence.
Use of Violence
Another similarity concerns the use of violence in both groups. The two groups make use of violence as a driving force for their influence as well as an effective strategy of recruiting more followers. The al Qaeda is effective in using suicide attacks for all of its affiliates; thus influencing other terrorist organizations (Holbrook, 2015). Taking the inspiration of suicide attacks from al Qaeda, the Islamic State has utilized this form of violence to instill fear, coerce, intimidate, and provoke an international reaction (Hosken, 2015). This is evident with the chaos that the group has caused in Syria and Iraq enabling it to expand globally (Holbrook, 2015). The two groups have access to non-conventional weapons. The ISIS makes use of Nuclear Weapons (NW) and Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), and it is planning in using radiological and chemical materials in future. This is the case with Al Qaeda who have maintained chemical weapons for different purposes such as defensive purposes as disclosed by Bin Laden during an interview after 9/11 attack.
Strategies
In the attempt of achieving their goals, both groups make use of similar strategies. The five common strategies commonly used by the two are attrition, spoiling, intimidation, provocation, and outbidding (Habeck, 2008). The al Qaeda group has effectively utilized attrition in towards the US and their allies. This is the same case with ISIS who have combined attrition with intimidation when attacking the Shia community where beheading is used to instill fear to the community (Furnish, 2005). Moreover, Islamic State has used intimidation and provocation at a global level where they use media to spread fear in showing their power, which attracts the global attention to spark a military clash.
Superior Group
From the above comparison, it is clear that one of the group is performing better than the other one and; thus, their future is promising. The Islamic State or ISIS, which at first was a subgroup of al Qaeda, have grown at a high rate, an aspect that proves that its future will be better compared to that of al Qaeda (Holbrook, 2015). The growing capability of the ISIS has seen through its increasing power and influence in the global perspective. This follows unique goals and strategies used to achieve them (Weiss & Ḥasan, 2015). Compared to al Qaeda, the ISIS focuses on home or closer enemies as well as policies, unlike the al Qaeda that focuses on the far enemy. In this case, it clear that Islamic State aims at reinforcing its army at the home ground by attracting and acquiring most of the jihadist groups. The group fights its home enemies such as Shia and Sunni communities who goes against their policies (Holbrook, 2015). This is an effective move made by this group by ensuring that they are in control of their home enemies before targeting the far enemy.
Moreover, the ISIS has a wealthy background supporting its activities. Their financial stability is another factor that promises their increased influence as they can recruit as many people as they can using money and heavy weapons as the incentives (Weiss & Ḥasan, 2015). Moreover, they are poaching the al Qaeda’s members, groups, and entities following their strength and their ability to expertise on the weaknesses of al Qaeda (Salama & Hansell, 2007). This has enabled the Islamic State to get support from other influential terrorist organizations such as Boko Haram. With such power, it is expected that the group will merge with other terrorist groups to increase its power, which will be easy to target the far enemies. The ISIS is also good in using intimidation to spread fear to their close and far enemies (Holbrook, 2015). They show brutality in public and make use of media to ensure that such content reaches the entire globe. As such, the group will use the advent of technology to spread its fascinating videos and pictures to influence their enemies. Moreover, ISIS has an improved governance and leadership that have to facilitate in making of impactful decisions (Holbrook, 2015). The enforcement of the sharia law is the key focus of the ISIS at both national and international aspect. This implies that the group will move to the international Muslims once it has established itself in the Iraq and Syria.
Conclusion
It is evident that terrorism will continue with the increased rivalry between the Islamic State and al Qaeda. Each of this group wants to prove itself better than the other; thus intensifying their attacks on their target enemies. The al Qaeda major enemy is the United States and its allies while the Islamic State focuses on their fellow Muslim community such as Shia and Sunni. The al Qaeda want to eradicate Americans from the Muslim world for them to have total control in these regions while ISIS focuses on fighting the Muslim groups that oppose the imposition of Islamic laws. The two groups use various strategies to achieve their objectives with attrition, spoiling, intimidation, provocation, and outbidding being the prominent strategies.
Assignment 2: Terrorism and Counter-terrorism Measures
According to English (2010), many definitions fit the word terrorism according to different authors and publications. Understanding this situation, English (2010) state that terrorism is the tactical use of threats and forcefulness by a competing group against non-combatants or civilians with the intention of influencing the audience to achieve a political goal and in turn have a psychological effect. From this definition, it is clear that the basis of terrorism is an opposition group that targets innocent victims who will push the government to make changes that the group wants. English (2010) claim that the increased research on the topic of terrorism is to develop countermeasures to stop this activity. From the previous assignment, it was noted that the Islamic State is most likely to excel in future. Therefore, the goal of this assignment is to assess the most effective countermeasures that can be taken to curb the growing influence of the Islamic State.
Taking this as a Global War
The fight against terrorism is not a responsibility of one country, say the United States, which has developed more interest. Rather, it is a global war that needs a combination of power, ideas, and strategies among the countries, as this way does not call for military power alone. As such, addressing this problem calls for a long-term plan that will include the multilateral cooperation to counter the violent extremism in all levels of society and government. According to Katulis, Lang, and Singh (2014), the American has grown interest in the increasing influence of Islamic States. Responding to their growth influence in Iraq and Syria, the America sent its airstrikes in Syria as an attempt of containing the rise of this group. This move was effective in protecting the US citizens in this region as well as preventing the genocide actions. As a result, the Iraqis resisted the influence of ISIS and allowed their government to develop a firm government under Haider al-Abadi who was the newly elected prime minister. This move by Americans is due to its diplomatic engagement whose aim is to boost the will of the involved leaders to confront terrorist threats posed by this group (Katulis, Lang, & Singh, 2014). In addition, the Americans have enhanced various measures to curb the act of terror by developing a set of security policies meant to build a robust political will and cooperation among countries for them to rob any conducive condition favoring the perpetration of this group.
Presence of US Airstrikes
The prevalence of the ISIS group is due to the exposure of chaos and suffering that has facilitated the growth of this group. As such, the effective countermeasure for curbing this group is to concentrate on the disruption of their progress despite their flourishing in a chaotic environment (Katulis, Lang, & Singh, 2014). Being aware of this fact, the United States provided military assistance and provided airstrikes in Syria as a way of disrupting their progress. The United Nations has supported the provision of airstrikes in this region by the US. This has enabled the opposing group of the ISIS in Syria to support the American efforts.
Reduce Internet Access
The improved communication, access to the internet, and advanced technology have strongly supported the rise of the Islamic State. The dawn of Internet has facilitated global communication where various platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter are used to pass information. These platforms have played a substantial role in supporting the growth of the ISIS where they can easily recruit new members, train them, and plan of attacks (Bouzis, 2014). Moreover, they use the internet to spread the fascinating images, audios, and videos to spread fear to the innocent victims. This has necessitated the counter-actions to control the cyber power with this group. One of the effective strategies employed in such an instance is the denial of extremist narratives used by this group by taking down websites, blocking messages, and prohibiting the spread of radical content (Bouzis, 2014). Along with this measure, public campaigns are being used to inform the public of the increasing exploitation used on the internet by the ISIS group. These campaigns are meant to create awareness to the public and encourage them to report any malicious activities carried on the Internet especially the social media platform.
Disrupt their Finances
Another effective strategy for curbing the growth of the Islamic State is disrupting their finances. The availability of ready finance is another factor that has enhanced the growth of the ISIS group (Bouzis, 2014). As a result, the US has focused on limiting their finances by placing sanctions to the nations that trade with the ISIS oil as well as those who donate to the ISIS and their leadership. Along these measures, the counterterrorism finance laws imposed after the 9/11 attack has facilitated this move by ensuring that the terrorist groups cannot move their money to the international borders (Bouzis, 2014). As a result, the Islamic State operates in both Syria and Iraq allowing the ISIS to continue being the richest jihadist terrorist group. Along with sanctioning, the US has discouraged ransom and extortion payments (Katulis, Lang, & Singh, 2014) The focus of this strategy is to limit the power that the Islamic State has over the local businesses and communities using extortion strategy. The U.S Treasury Department (DoT) has collaborated with the intelligence community in the attempt of analyzing the financial pocket litter as well as calculating the counterinsurgency raids (Bouzis, 2014). This information is essential in targeting the next round of raids targeted by the ISIS. In this case, therefore, reducing the financial power of this group will be essential in limiting their influence to the overseas countries where it is targeting to establish or support its affiliates due to the financial power.
Uphill Battle
Handling the uphill battle is another effective counterinsurgency strategy for the curbing the spread of the Islamic State. Despite the efforts made by the United States to control this group, religious tensions, discord, and corruption in Iraq has reduced the efficiency of these strategies (Bouzis, 2014). There is increased selling of military goods in the civilian black markets as well as the embezzlement of ghost soldiers. This is a clear indication of the increased combat corruption in the Iraq Security Forces; thus enhancing the access of weapons to the Islamic State. Likewise, there is increased fear of the sectarian comebacks for the traumatized populations make it hard for the Iraqi societies to unite against the ISIS (Bouzis, 2014). Responding to this fear, the United States has engaged the Sunni members in fracturing the weak bonds of the Sunni tribes. With this moves, the United States aims at creating a conducive environment for the Iraqi society to join hands and fight against the rise of ISIS.
Building and Managing Coalitions that Fight ISIS in Syria and Iraq
Another effective strategy for fighting and countering the rise of the Islamic State is building and managing coalitions that defeat ISIS. Despite the effort made by the US to counter and stop the growing threat of the ISIS the United States has collaborated with other international and regional coalitions with similar interest. The United Nations facilitates this process where the US operates at three phases: with transatlantic partners, actors, and their allies in the region (Katulis, Lang, & Singh, 2014). Besides, the United States have created an ISIS-focused intelligence blend cell within the region of operation of ISIS. This is an efficient move made by the US of collaborating with the Middle East intelligence services that are against the ISIS. For instance, the intelligence service of Saudi have battled the Islamist terrorists especially the ISIS. In this case, the US should support these intelligence services to reinforce them and blend their effort in countering the situation.
Financial Support to Oppositions of the ISIS
The fact that the United States have withdrawn their direct military assistance in Syria does not imply that it is not participating in this war. Rather, the US is indirectly fighting the war where it is supporting and sponsoring the groups fighting the Islamist State in Syria. This is evident where the US has proposed to offer $500 million in support of the opposition groups of the ISIS (Katulis, Lang, & Singh, 2014). Such funds are used to coordinate the capable security partners with the tribes and US partners in the region. This process creates deeper ties among the opposition groups, which intensifies the ability of these groups in fighting the ISIS at its home ground. With such strategies, the US aims at containing the spread of the ISIS without a direct contact with the group.
Regional Support
The United States has also stimulated support from the Iraqi government in the fight against the rise of the Islamic State. In the attempt of achieving this goal, there has been an agreement between Iraqi and the US governments that show the areas of cooperation in this relationship whose aim is to re-establish and reinforce its security in countering the rise of ISIS group (Katulis, Lang, & Singh, 2014). Moreover, this agreement is important in facilitating the coordination of these two nations in sharing their power in fighting this group. Using this relationship, the US has provided security support to Iraq (Bouzis, 2014). Such support is used to outreach and rejuvenate the powers and capabilities of Sunni community that is a great enemy of the ISIS (Katulis, Lang, & Singh, 2014). Moreover, the US has engaged the Sunni tribes with the regional partners. The Unites States is coordinating the effort of Sunni tribes in Jordan and Gulf States in a strategy meant to reach the other tribes in the western Iraq. The US has provided both military and non-military assistance to show their willingness to counter the ISIS by facilitating the operation of these groups at the regional levels.
Short-Term Actions
There are a number of short-term actions used to counter the growth of ISIS in regional and international levels. The first one is to attack the terrorists and their ability to operate. In this case, the United States target the leaders of the terrorist groups who give motivation, direction, and discipline in the attainment of specific goals (State.gov, 2009). For instance, in the fight against the al Qaeda’s the US targeted their leader who was the key to the weakening the group. Similarly, the US is targeting the Islamic State leaders who can be a core source of their collapse once captured or killed. Moreover, targeting the foot soldiers is another effective step for reducing the capacity of the group. The foot soldiers are the one who recruits, train and facilitate the terrorist group (Bouzis, 2014). Targeting this group is important in curbing the growth of the group (State.gov, 2009). This also includes curbing the use of technology among these soldiers, as it is the key to recruitment and training offered to the new recruits. Besides, the United States have targeted the weapons used by the Islamic State by limiting the access and acquisition of these weapons.
Reduce Mobility of the ISIS
Along with these strategies, the United States has aimed at reducing the mobility of the ISIS group. This has been achieved by denying them the entry to the US as well as disrupting their travel internationally. The strategy has been made to impede the effectiveness of this group (State.gov, 2009). The strategy has been facilitated by improving the security at the American boarders as well as improving port, road, and railway security to prevent the movement of this group (Bouzis, 2014). Reducing the mobility of the ISIS limits their networking capability to the external affiliates. In addition, America has defended the potential targets of the ISIS as an efficient strategy for reducing the growth of the ISIS group. It is known that the focus of this group is the vulnerable areas; thus, any attempt made to protect such areas will enhance the security measures (United Nations, 2006). It is apparent that the ISIS focus on the government facilities or softer targets such as restaurants, schools, and nodes of public transport where most of the victims here are innocent people. Attacking such places instills fear to the public who pressure the government to compromise their strategies on the ISIS (State.gov, 2009). As a result, the Americans have secured its crucial resource and infrastructures such as telecommunication, agriculture, energy, and banking and financial facilities in response to this trend. This strategy is important in ensuring that the national security has been maintained.
Turkish Government Attempts
Turkey has as well taken part in fighting the growth of the Islamist State in Syria. Being the neighborhood country of Syria, the ISIS are extending to the Kurdish community located in Turkey and executed their attacks there. In response to these practices, Turkish government has implemented a three-component security approach. First, it is using government agencies in countering the rise of the ISIS where law enforcement, intelligence, and military agencies are being used as counterterrorism strategies (Sinai, 2016). This involves the use of the interior security to enhance the internal security in both urban and local areas. A second component focuses on countering violent terrorism. This is facilitated by the use of various programs such as Turkish National Police for reaching the vulnerable population such as Kurdish targeted by the ISIS. By enhancing the security of such population, the Turkish government aims at countering the use of violent used by the ISIS when carrying their attacks as well as prevent possible recruitment or networking that might occur using such a population (Sinai, 2016). The third component is international CT cooperation. This strategy is effective in facilitating the collaboration of the Turkish efforts in countering the growth of ISIS globally. As a result, Turkey has collaborated with regional and international allies with similar goals of stopping the spread of the Islamist State (Sinai, 2016). This strategy has enabled the Turkey to formulate effective counterterrorism measures such as improving its aviation security, border security, and law execution investigations. In return, Turkey has permitted the American fighter aircraft to use its Incirlik airbase in hurling attacks against the ISIS.
Effectiveness of these Strategies
Despite the made attempts of countering the growth of the ISIS group, it is important to assess the effectiveness of these strategies. Have they at any moment achieved anything? Is the growth of the Islamist State been hindered using these strategies? These among other questions will be the focus of this part of the study in evaluating the effectiveness of the strategies discussed above.
Technology and Communication Strategies
Attempting to stop the growth of the ISIS by blocking their technology or countering the cyber raid has not yielded more results as expected. The effectiveness of this strategy is still questionable since the number of new accounts or websites opened is equal or more than the accounts and websites were taken down (Bouzis, 2014). To avoid being tracked back, the ISIS are not including the hashtag ISIS in their accounts to prevent being tracked. Moreover, the ISIS have moved to the use of darknet used to carry criminal actions on the internet (Bouzis, 2014). The use of darknet limits the capability of the FBI or surveillance actions from following the activities of this group.
Limiting their Entry to America
The attempt made by the Americans to prevent the terrorist groups especially Islamist State members to enter to the American by improving border, port, roadway, and railway security have not been successful. This is because these individuals are forging documents or stealing from natives who have the original documents, which has allowed them to enter the America and other countries.
Collaboration with other Nations
Most of the nations have pledged to support the US in the fight against the rise of the ISIS. This strategy has been effective in boosting the military actions taken to fight the ISIS (Katulis, Lang, & Singh, 2014). Moreover, this collaboration has facilitated the process of taking airstrikes that have been useful in disrupting and degrading the rise of ISIS in Syria. However, not most of the countries have dedicated themselves in this war where even those countries that have volunteered themselves have refused to promise their support.
Military Support
The effort made by the Americans to support the opposition groups of ISIS has played a substantial role in delaying the progress of the group. The Americans have supported Sunni tribes using funds, military intelligence, and weapons that have strengthened this group in fighting the ISIS (Katulis, Lang, & Singh, 2014). This move has enabled the Sunni to contain the rise of the ISIS to the external countries since they have to deal with Sunni before expanding to the external nations.
Limiting their Finances
This has been an effective strategy in reducing the power of this group. However, the ISIS is using other strategies to increase its funds such as imposing a heavy tax to the locals especially the Christians and other groups that are not Islamic (Bouzis, 2014). Moreover, selling of crude oil is also taking place between Iraq and Syria as well as their neighboring countries such as Iran and Turkey. To improve the efficiency of this approach, the US should disrupt the process of oil extraction, refining, and transportation to its buyers.
Enhancing Interior Security
The Americans have improved its internal security to prevent the prevalence of the Islamist State members within themselves. This move has been successful in ensuring that their vulnerable population and resources are secured from these attacks. This has functioned as a key strength in maintaining its interior security; thus enabling the US to focus on the external security, which in this case, is to curb the rise of the ISIS.
Democratic and Political Will
This has is another successful strategy used in the fight against the ISIS. This move has enabled the US and its allies to deprive the conducive conditions that support the rise of the ISIS. This has been facilitated by evaluating the grievances and local factors exploited by the ISIS to turn the locals into violence. Moreover, the US and the UN has fostered good governance in Iraq and Syria in the fight against corruption and poverty, health, education, and other basic services (Katulis, Lang, & Singh, 2014). This has reduced the radicalization risk that can be used by the ISIS. This effort has also reduced the violence and chaotic environment used by the ISIS to spread their effect.
Conclusion
The Islamist State group has exponentially developed in Syria and Iraq, which has posed substantial threat to the stability of the Middle East and the American interests as well as global ones in this area. If this trend persists with the continued brutality and the recruitment of foreign fighter, then the group will continual to be a global threat to the global terrorism. However, the US and its allies can curb this trend by collaborating with the UN and other nations whose participation should be prepared to fight this war without backing down. The partnership of these countries should focus on all possible strategies that can limit the growth of this group. The ISIS can be defeated upon the successful collaboration of these countries at international and regional levels to ensure that the rise of this group is countered in all the ways. The leadership and engagement of the United States play a vital role in the success of these efforts since the US have played a core role in these strategies. Moreover, the Syrian and Iraqi government should also put efforts in fighting this war by providing conducive environment for their citizens through the provision of necessities, good health, and food in the attempt of evading chaos that might break from the victims of the ISIS group.
References
Bouzis, K., (2014). Countering the Islamic State: US Counterterrorism Measures. Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 38(10), 885-897.
Burke, J., (2014). Al-Qaeda: The true story of radical Islam. New York; London: I.B. Tauris.
Cockburn, P., (2015). The rise of Islamic State: ISIS and the new Sunni Revolution. London: Verso.
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