Per The Times of Israel: Islamic State Fighters Said to be Using US Arms
Ladies and gentlemen, you may well recall in the past my discussing the Obama administration having supplied the Islamic State militants for more than a full year with arms and munitions. This morning, The Times of Israel has just confirmed this. I was right since last year when Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) posted a group photograph on Memorial Day (2013) with current members of what then was called ISIS or ISIL. McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have been the two major war hawks within the GOP Senate for years, going well beyond the scourge within the party I consider to be the neoconservatives (some shorten this to "neocons"), or RINOs. Of course, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) warned the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last summer that his committee had voted in favor of arming al-Qaeda and its offshoots; he too, was right. I do not particularly care about Sen. Paul as you know because I do not trust him for being at best, flaky on the issues and what he continues to alter his positions depending upon the talk show he graces any evening. And without further ado, allow me to provide you the actual article from the Israeli news medium:
Islamic State fighters said to be using US armsInvestigation finds IS wielding American-made weapons originally supplied to Syrian rebels via Saudi ArabiaBY AFP September 8, 2014, 12:50 pm
RELATED TOPICSIS ISLAMIC STATELONDON, United Kingdom — Islamic State fighters appear to be using captured US military issue arms and weapons supplied to moderate rebels in Syria by Saudi Arabia, according to a report published on Monday.The study by the London-based small-arms research organisation Conflict Armament Research documented weapons seized by Kurdish forces from militants in Iraq and Syria over a 10-day period in July.The report said the jihadists disposed of “significant quantities” of US-made small arms including M16 assault rifles and included photos showing the markings “Property of US Govt.”It also found that anti-tank rockets used by IS in Syria were “identical to M79 rockets transferred by Saudi Arabia to forces operating under the Free Syrian Army umbrella in 2013.”The rockets were made in the then Yugoslavia in the 1980s.Islamic State is believed to have seized large quantities of weapons from Syrian military installations it has captured, as well as arms supplied by the United States to the Iraqi army after it swept through northern Iraq in recent weeks.
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Can you say that I told you so? Indeed, the Islamic State has been receiving funding from the U.S. as well as being well-armed; this is well documented, and I have two articles in my list of favorites from January to corroborate my claims and the above article's. I will first turn to Reuters where I learned this first, and which served as a major argument on my Facebook with two old friends who accused me of posting biased opinions:
Congress secretly approves U.S. weapons flow to 'moderate' Syrian rebels
BY MARK HOSENBALLWASHINGTON Mon Jan 27, 2014 5:35pm EST
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| People stand on a street lined with damaged buildings in the besieged area of Homs January 27, 2014. |
(Reuters) - Light arms supplied by the United States are flowing to "moderate" Syrian rebel factions in the south of the country and U.S. funding for months of further deliveries has been approved by Congress, according U.S. and European security officials.
The weapons, most of which are moving to non-Islamist Syrian rebels via Jordan, include a variety of small arms, as well as some more powerful weapons, such as anti-tank rockets.
The deliveries do not include weapons such as shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles, known as MANPADs, which could shoot down military or civilian aircraft, the officials said.
The weapons deliveries have been funded by the U.S. Congress, in votes behind closed doors, through the end of government fiscal year 2014, which ends on September 30, two officials said.
The apparently steady weapons flow contrasts with the situation last summer, when lethal U.S. aid to the Syrian rebels dried up for a time due to congressional reservations.
Congressional committees held up weapons deliveries for months over fears that U.S. arms would not prove decisive in the rebels' efforts to oust President Bashar Assad and his government and could well end up in the hands of Islamist militants.
A U.S. official familiar with recent developments said national security officials and members of Congress are more confident that weapons delivered to southern Syria are going to, and remaining in, the hands of moderate rebels rather than militant jihadist factions.
Congress approved funding for weapons deliveries to the Syrian rebels in classified sections of defense appropriations legislation, two sources familiar with the matter said. It was not clear when the funding was approved, but unclassified defense funding passed Congress in late December.
Some additional budget tweaks may be necessary to ensure that all the approved funding is fully available for disbursement during the current fiscal year.
Yet, officials who support providing U.S. arms to the rebels acknowledge that this has not greatly increased U.S. expectations of victory by anti-Assad forces, whether moderate or militant.
"The Syrian war is a stalemate. The rebels lack the organization and weapons to defeat Assad; the regime lacks the loyal manpower to suppress the rebellion. Both sides' external allies... are ready to supply enough money and arms to fuel the stalemate for the foreseeable future," said Bruce Riedel, a former senior CIA analyst and sometime foreign policy adviser to President Barack Obama.
Both U.S. and European officials said that "moderate" rebels had recently consolidated their positions in the Syrian south, where they are pushing out elements linked to al-Qaeda. More militant factions remain dominant in the north and east.
Another recent development favorable to more moderate factions is that Kurdish groups that had been providing weapons and other aid financed by donors in the Gulf state of Qatar indiscriminately to both moderate and religious extremist rebel factions had greatly reduced their involvement in the arms traffic, one of the officials said.
A White House spokeswoman had no comment. Other U.S. agencies did not respond to requests for comment.
As for "non-lethal" aid like communications and transportation equipment, the United States hopes to resume deliveries to moderate groups in Syria soon, a U.S. official said on Monday.
The United States and Britain suspended non-lethal aid to northern Syria in December after reports that Islamist fighters seized Western-backed rebel weapons warehouses, highlighting fears that supplies could end up in hostile hands.
"We hope to be able to resume assistance to the SMC shortly, pending security and logistics considerations," said the official, referring to the Supreme Military Council moderate rebel group. "But we have no announcements at this time," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Non-lethal aid was resumed to civilian groups in that region in late December.
(Additional reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Dan Grebler)
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Yes? Considering the Senate has the final say on foreign policy and national defense in Congress, this was its baby. And not coincidentally, Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) gave their rubber stamp of approval.
There then is The Telegraph from Britain which reported the following similar news:
US secretly backs rebels to fight al-Qaeda in SyriaSources tell Telegraph that America is backing 'friendly' rebels with millions in cash and non lethal aid to take on extremists in Syria
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| A Free Syrian Army fighter fires an anti-tank missile Photo: reuters |
By Ruth Sherlock, Antakya 8:20PM GMT 21 Jan 2014 Comments 159 CommentsThe United States and Gulf countries have been secretly backing efforts by opposition rebels to destroy al-Qaeda's most extreme wing in Syria, diplomats and rebels involved in the plan have told The Telegraph.As Western leaders publicly push the Syrian regime and the opposition to the Geneva II peace conference that begins Wednesday Washington has also been quietly supporting moves by Saudi Arabia and Qatar to give weapons and cash to rebel groups to fight al-Qaeda's Islamic State of Iraq and al-Shams (ISIS) in Syria.One source said the US was itself handing out millions of dollars to rebel groups best equipped to take on the extremists while another confirmed America was providing non-lethal aid.The development marks a new phase in the conflict, with international backers working directly with rebel commanders to target al-Qaeda cells, who are seen as a major threat by Western intelligence agencies."Everyone is offering us funding to fight them," said one commander in a rebel group affiliated to the Western-backed Supreme Military Council. "We used to have no weapons with which to fight the regime, but now the stocks are full."
In the past year ISIS has "hijacked" the Syrian revolt. Made up partly of foreign jihadists, it has sought to impose a medieval style Islamic caliphate run under a strict interpretation of Sharia law in rebel-held areas. They assassinated rival rebel commanders who they feared might be conspiring against them, or whose power they perceived as a threat.The final affront, in rebel eyes, came in December when ISIS tortured and killed Abu Rayyan, a popular doctor and commander in a rebel brigade.The subsequent battle against ISIS, which began a fortnight ago and has already claimed more than 1000 lives, is being touted by local commanders as a spontaneous reaction to the spate of assassinations of comrades.However, the Telegraph can reveal that in late December, a delegation including US and Saudi officials met in Turkey with senior rebel leaders.According to two sources – one whose brother was at the meeting: "They talked about the fighting with ISIS, and the Americans encouraged the commanders to attack."The Syrian Revolutionary Front, whose main commander, Jamal Maarouf, is allied to Saudi Arabia, and the Army of Islam, a new coalition of the moderate rebels sponsored by Qatar, have continued to liaise with the CIA and Saudi and Qatari intelligence, others close to meetings said.These groups received a boost in arms supplies. According to a source who facilitates governments' lethal and non-lethal aid to Western-friendly groups: "Qatar sent arms first. Saudi Arabia didn't want to be out done, so one week before the attack on ISIS, they gave 80 tons of weaponry, including heavy machine guns".A resident living close to bases for the Army of Islam and the Syrian Revolutionary Front in Syria's Idlib province said he had seen 15 trucks "filled with weapons going to the bases".Washington did not directly give arms, he said, but backed Saudi Arabia in its funding of the groups. The United States has, however, also been giving $2 million in cash every month as an unofficial hand out, splitting that amount between western friendly rebel groups, the source added.Senior commanders in both groups confirmed they had received some funds, but refused to say whether it was specifically for the purpose of attacking ISIS. They are wary of being compared to the so-called "Sunni Awakening" of 2006 in Iraq, when the US military encouraged former insurgents to rebel against their al-Qaeda allies, as many Islamist groups in Syria consider the term offensive.Nonetheless, the recent fighting marks a dramatic change in the pace of battle, after months of stalemate in the fight against Mr Assad.On the same day earlier this month, rebel groups, confident and well armed, launched coordinated attacks against ISIS at militarily strategic points across three different provinces in the north of the country, as well as in the central city of Hama. ISIS was also at the same time engaged in fighting across the border in Iraq's western Anbar province, where its forces tried to capture the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi.Muhannad Issa, a rebel commander who led an assault against ISIS in the Syrian town of Salqeen, in Idlib province, said: "All the commanders united for a meeting and we agreed they had to be finished. We gave them six hours to surrender after they took one of our bases. When the ultimatum expired, we cleaned them out. In one hour we pushed them from four of their strongholds."One activist in Salqeen, who watched local members of ISIS coming under attack, said: "Jamal Maarouf's group attacked with full force. The ISIS guys were besieged. Jamal Maarouf was screaming over the radio, 'Give up or we are coming to kill you, just as we kill the Syrian regime.' There was an Australian jihadist there, and he was trembling."In recent days al-Qaeda's retreat has slowed. The group has retaken the Syrian city of Raqqa – its main stronghold until now – and several towns on the outskirts of Aleppo. It is also surviving, in smaller numbers, in the city of Saraqeb in Idlib province.Nevertheless it is hoped that the inroads made against ISIS will improve support for the Syrian opposition on the ground, thereby boosting their credibility at Geneva.In answer to suggestions that the US and Saudis are helping the rebels against the al Qaeda linked extremists a Western diplomat told the Telegraph: "Coordination is continuing with the main international supporters of the armed groups. ISIS has fought back but the momentum of the other groups is continuing and that is a good springboard for the Geneva conference".
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Just who were these "moderates" the president funded? Well, let me show you a photograph of McCain:
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| Sen. John McCain with members of today's Islamic State, Memorial Day 2013 |
How moderate! They live in the 10th Century while the rest of the Islamic world at least has advanced to the 16th! And McCain, you know, loves to fight wars; he and Graham are the two biggest war hawks in the GOP Senate caucus. And for a brief synopsis of the origins of the Islamic State, another article from Reuters will provide you the following, as well as those of the other major rebel alliances:
* Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant:ISIL was formed by breakaway elements from the Nusra Front, al Qaeda's official affiliate in Syria, which joined with al Qaeda's Iraq branch.The group is headed by the Iraq branch's leader, known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. He has ignored calls from al Qaeda central to stay out of Syria and focus on Iraq.On Monday, al Qaeda's general command said it had no links with ISIL, in an apparent attempt to assert authority over Islamist militant groups in Syria.ISIL is seen as the most hardline of all the Islamist forces in Syria and has made enemies of several rebel groups since it seized many towns and checkpoints in opposition areas.The group was largely accepted by Syrian civilians at first due to its strict policies against looting and its attempts to provide social services. It lost favor as its members began kidnapping and killing critics and rival groups.ISIL is now fighting on several fronts. In Syria, many rebel factions are trying to retake territory and force the group out of their areas. At the same time, Iraqi military forces have launched a heavy campaign in Anbar province, where ISIL fighters took control of some towns.While its numbers may be smaller, perhaps around 6,000 to 7,000, the ISIL's hardline fighting force is very committed and backed by foreign militants.The group has vowed to use assassinations and other strategies to retaliate against attacks. In a January 7 statement, it vowed to crush the Syrian rebels and made no gestures toward reconciliation despite the Nusra Front's calls for a truce.
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In his usual manner, Vladimir Putin kicked around Obama in Syria; he pegged his assertion that the Free Syria Army was nothing but "cannibals". And of course, is there really a Free Syria Army, and who actually formed it? The Independent of Britain discussed this last year in June:
Freedom fighters? Cannibals? The truth about Syria’s rebels
The US wants to send them arms, Vladimir Putin says they’re cannibals – but what do we really know about the opposition movement fighting to topple Assad? Syria expert Aron Lund profiles some of the most powerful factions
Battlefield alliances: The major groups
The Syrian Islamic Front (SIF):
Leader Abu Abdullah al-Hamawi (Ahrar al-Sham)
Affiliated fighters Group’s own figures claimed about 25,000 in Dec 2012
A hardline Salafist alliance created in December 2012, which receives funding from conservative clerics in the Gulf. The SIF has distanced itself from the Western-backed FSA, but it is also wary of Jabhat al-Nusra’s al-Qa’ida connection. Unlike the SILF and the FSA, the SIF has demonstrated some degree of internal cohesion and significant ideological homogeneity. It is dominated by Ahrar al-Sham, but the front also includes the Haqq Brigade (Homs), the Haqq Battalions (northern Hama), the Ansar al-Sham Battalions (northern Latakia), and the Tawhid Army (Deir al-Zor). It is demanding an Islamic state with sharia law.
AFFILIATES: Islamic Ahrar al-Sham Movement
The Free Syrian Army:
Leader Brig Gen Salim Idriss
Affiliated fighters Many different claims. Most recently, in June 2013, Idriss claimed he is the leader of 80,000 fighters
The FSA name has been used by several overlapping rebel networks since mid-2011. This version, which is also often referred to as the Supreme Military Council, was created in December 2012 after pressure from Western and Gulf Arab nations, which seek to make it the military wing of Syria’s civilian exile group, the National Coalition. Foreign funding has drawn numerous rebel commanders to the FSA, including all the SILF heavyweights. But these commanders retain operational control over their own forces, and Idriss therefore serves more as a spokesperson than a military leader. Idriss steers a secular-nationalist line, while many of the factions that make up his army have opted for some form of Islamic rule.
AFFILIATES Syria Martyrs Brigades, Farouq Battalions, Tawhid Brigade, Suqour al-Sham Brigades and Islam Brigade
The Syrian Islamic Liberation Front (SILF)
Leader Ahmed Eissa al-Sheikh (Suqour al-Sham)
Secretary General Zahran Alloush (Islam Brigade)
Affiliated fighters Spokesperson says 35,000-40,000 June 2013
The SILF is a very loose Islamist alliance created in September 2012, around a bare-bones ideological plank demanding more Islam and less Assad. It now includes about 20 armed movements, among them powerful factions like Farouq and Tawhid. The SILF members joined the new version of the FSA at its inception in December 2012, and now make up the bulk of its fighting force. A representative of the SILF describes it as ”the largest of the revolutionary coalitions”.
AFFILIATES Farouq Battalions, Tawhid Brigade, Suqour al-Sham Brigades and Islam Brigade
MILITANT FACTIONS
Farouq Battalions
Leader Osama Juneidi
Numbers Approximately 14,000 now, according to their spokesperson.
Area National, but associated with Homs also has strong presence on Syrian-Turkish border
Affiliation SILF, FSA
The Farouq Battalions is a large, Islamist-leaning group which has its roots in the earliest Free Syrian Army formations created in Homs province in summer and autumn of 2011. It rose to prominence when leading the failed February 2012 defense of the Baba Amr neighborhood in the city. Since then the original group has expanded tremendously and it now runs affiliates across the country. A well-funded northern wing, Farouq al-Shamal, controls important border crossings and is rumored to enjoy Turkish patronage.
Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic state of Iraq
Leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani (Jabhat al-Nusra); Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (Islamic state)
Number: a report this year by the Quilliam Foundation said Jabhat al-nusra had 5,000 fighters, but this is impossible to verify
Area Syria - Iraq
Affiliation al-Qa’ida
In mid-2011, the al-Qa’ida-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq sent a group to Syria to create a jihadi movement. In January 2012, it emerged as Jabhat al-Nusra with a string of suicide bombings. Declared a terrorist group by the US since December 2012, Jabhat al-Nusra has co-operated with other rebels on the ground but shunned alliances. In April, Baghdadi declared a merger of the Iraqi group with Jabhat al-Nusra under the name Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham. This was opposed by Nusra’s leader, but Baghdadi persisted, backed by many foreign jihadis. Both groups are in Syria, the dispute unresolved.
Islamic Ahrar al-Sham Movement
Leader Abu Abdullah al-Hamawi
Area Syria (It is strongest in northern Syria, in Idlib, Hama and Aleppo, but has affiliates all over the country.)
Numbers Several thousand at least, maybe as many as 10,000. SIF (the alliance of which they make up around 75 per cent of forces) circulated an informal claim that it had 25,000 fighters back in December.
Affiliation SIF
Ahrar al-Sham is likely to be Syria’s largest salafi faction. It claims to run about a hundred local armed groups, as well as offices for humanitarian aid and sharia law. It was created in the Idlib-Hama region in early summer 2011. In December 2012 it spearheaded the creation of the SIF alliance, which drew like-minded Islamist groups into its orbit. In spring 2013, several SIF member factions merged into Ahrar al-Sham, greatly adding to its numbers and influence. It seeks an Islamic state based on sharia law.
Syria Martyrs’ Brigades
Leader Jamaal Maarouf
Numbers High thousands? Even 10,000? Maarouf claimed in an interview in December 2012 to have more than 18,000 fighters, but this is disputed.
Area Jabal al-Zawiya, Idlib
Affiliation FSA
Originally named the Jabal al-Zawiya Martyrs’ Brigade, a name change was engineered to match Jamal Maarouf’s growing ambitions in mid-2012. The group remains concentrated in the rugged, rural Jabal al-Zawiya region of Idlib, and has spawned only a few branches elsewhere. Unlike his local Islamist rival, Suqour al-Sham’s Ahmed Eissa al-Sheikh, Maarouf seems to have no particular ideology, but he is nevertheless said to enjoy Saudi funding.
YPG – Popular Protection Units
Spokesperson Khebat Ibrahim
Numbers Some thousands
Area Kurdish-populated areas, northern and north-eastern Syria, Aleppo.
Affilation Supreme Kurdish Committee, PKK
The YPG is the dominant Kurdish armed group, which took over large sections of northern Syria in August last year. It is not-so-secretly loyal to the PKK, which has by now forcibly co-opted most other Kurdish groups in Syria. The YPG has deep misgivings about the Arab opposition mainstream, which it considers to be Islamist and under Turkish influence, and it has steered a middle way between the regime and the rebels. True to the PKK’s Marxist tradition, the YPG makes a point of training female fighters. The YPG does not seek independence for Syria’s Kurds, but does argue for a form of self-governance within Syria.
Islam Brigade
Leader Zahran Alloush
Numbers Thousands
Area Mainly Damascus
Affiliation SILF, FSA
The Islam Brigade was set up by the Alloush family from Douma, east of Damascus. The elderly patriarch Mohammed Alloush, a religious scholar, lives in Saudi Arabia. His son Zahran, a salafi activist jailed by the government in 2009, founded the group when he was released from prison in mid-2011. It rose to prominence after bombing the National Security Office in Damascus in July 2012, which killed several of Assad’s leading military officials. Considers itself “the biggest faction in the Damascus region” and claims to have 64 sub-battalions, but it refuses to give an estimated number of fighters.
Tawhid Brigade
General leader Abdelaziz Salama
Military commander Abdulqader Saleh
Numbers Spokesperson claims ”around 11,000”
Area Aleppo, with smaller groups around the country
Affiliation SILF, FSA
The Tawhid Brigade was created in July 2012 through the merger of a disparate collection of militias from the Sunni Arab countryside surrounding Aleppo. Soon thereafter, the group led the charge into the city itself, but the rebels became bogged down during the autumn of 2012 after some initial victories. The Tawhid Brigade remains the dominant force in the Aleppo region, although it also has small affiliates elsewhere. It demands some form of Islamic governance, but says that religious minorities should be treated as equal citizens.
Suqour al-Sham Brigades
Leader Ahmed Eissa al-Sheikh
Numbers Several thousand, possibly climbing towards 10,000
Area Jabal al-Zawiya, Idlib
Affiliation SILF, FSA
The foundations of the Suqour al-Sham, one of Syria’s best-known Islamist groups, were laid in the summer of 2011 in the town of Sarjeh in Idlib’s Jabal al-Zawiya region. It has now grown considerably and some of its sub-units, such as the Dawoud Brigade, have been pushing south into Hama province alongside more radical Islamist groups. Suqour al-Sham helped create the SILF alliance, with Ahmed Eissa al-Sheikh serving as its leader since the start.
About the writer
Aron Lund is a Swedish writer and researcher who has published extensively on Syrian opposition movements. He is a regular contributor to the Swedish Institute for International Affairs. Mr Lund is considered one of the best informed observers of the Syrian opposition
_________________________A German medium called DW provides a more updated piece of information about the Islamic State.
IRAQEvolution of the 'Islamic State'
THE RELENTLESS MARCH OF THE 'ISLAMIC STATE 'Iraqi refugees face 'catastrophic' conditions Germany debates arms shipments for Kurdish fighters Returning jihadists pose a threat to Germany ISIS gains don't make Assad a Western ally ISIS, oil and war Islamist terror groups in Africa and Middle East Germany's conservatives call for crackdown on homegrown jihadists Evolution of the 'Islamic State'ISIS threatening to redraw Mideast borders Kurds struggle to unify against ISISISIS' caliphate dream could be thwarted Sykes-Picot drew Middle East's arbitrary borders Fearing ISIS, Iraqi Christians flee Who finances ISIS?Weak Iraqi army no match for ISIS insurgents Opinion: Mideast must change mindset Opinion: Who will stop the "Islamic State?"The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), now simply the "Islamic State," continues to advance in northern Iraq, prompting US airstrikes against the Sunni extremist group. DW looks at the group's origins and goals.
The "Islamic State" is a militant Sunni Muslim extremist group that emerged out of the remnants of Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI).
In 2003, the United States overthrew Iraq's secular dictator Saddam Hussein, outlawed his Arab nationalist Baath party and dissolved the country's military. Feeling marginalized as Iraq's majority Shiites rose to power, Hussein's Sunni co-confessionalists launched a bloody insurgency against the US-led coalition beginning in summer of that year.
Although initially made up predominantly of ex-soldiers and Hussein loyalists, the insurgency grew increasingly radical as Islamist militants led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi infiltrated its ranks. Originally a petty criminal, Zarqawi was radicalized in a Jordanian prison and fought in Afghanistan against the communist government in Kabul - which was abandoned by the Soviet Union - from 1989 to 1992.
Zarqawi was arrested again by the Jordanians in 1994 for plotting against the country's monarchy, but was subsequently released in 1999 as part of a general amnesty granted after King Hussein's death.
Zarqawi returned to Afghanistan, but was forced to flee for northern Iraq after the US-led invasion toppled the Taliban in 2001. Once in Iraq, Zarqawi reportedly led the Arab faction within the Kurdish militant group Ansar al-Islam. He subsequently founded al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI).
Iraq civil war and Sunni Awakening
In 2006, AQI bombed the al-Askari mosque in the city of Samarra, severely damaging one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam. The attack triggered a brutally violent sectarian civil war that raged between Sunnis and Shiites until 2008.
Zarqawi's militants were so vicious and indiscriminate in their attacks that Sunni tribes in Iraq's western Anbar province turned against AQI and allied themselves with US forces. This became known as the Sunni Awakening. In June 2006, the US killed Zarqawi in an airstrike. He was succeeded by Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, and AQI was renamed the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI).
In 2007, Washington launched its so-called "surge," pouring more than 20,000 additional troops into Iraq. US and Iraqi forces killed al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi during a raid in 2010. Violence in Iraq was significantly reduced during the surge, and it appeared that ISI had been largely defeated.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was declared the caliph of the "Islamic State"
ISIS takes the fight to Syria
But after the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq in December 2011, ISI began to regroup with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi emerging as its new leader. He renamed the Sunni militant group the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), reflecting its broader aims. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had reportedly lived and worked with Zarqawi in Afghanistan.
As neighboring Syria descended into civil war in 2011, ISIS moved across the border and joined the fight against President Bashar al-Assad. But ISIS had a falling out with al Qaeda central in Pakistan, led by Ayman al-Zawahiri since the death of Osama bin Laden at the hands of US special forces in 2011. ISIS had sought to merge with another al Qaeda-linked group in Syria, al-Nusrah Front, a move that Zawahiri rejected.
Declaration of the "Islamic State"
Despite the apparent falling out with al Qaeda, ISIS made significant gains in Syria, fighting both Assad forces and moderate rebels. After establishing a stronghold in Syria's northeast, ISIS launched an offensive across the border into Iraq, capturing the country's second largest city of Mosul on June 10, 2014. ISIS has made steady advances across northern and western Iraq as the country's federal security forces have largely collapsed.
At the end of June, ISIS declared the "Islamic State" across the Iraqi-Syrian frontier, with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as its caliph. The "Islamic State" has imposed a ruthless form of Sharia law, forcing women to wear veils under the threat of execution. Religious minorities such as Christians and Yazidis have fled, after being threatened with death if they don't convert to Sunni Islam or pay a tax. Shiites have also been ruthlessly targeted.
The "Islamic State" is now stronger than ever before. During its offensive, the militants have looted hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and captured several oil fields in Iraq and Syria. The group has also seized US military armament from Iraqi government forces, giving it additional firepower.
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In another blog article, I told you George H.W. Bush's failure to establish a stable government in Kabul for Afghanistan following the Soviet Union created a power vacuum in Afghanistan which Pakistan filled by installing the Taliban and funding the newly-formed al-Qaeda terrorist cell under Osama bin Laden to set up its base for operations in the mountains near Tora Bora and Kandahar. When the Soviets left Afghanistan in February 1989, President Reagan had been out of office for about a month. It was crucial that Bush, his successor and former vice president, complete the job of forming a new government in Afghanistan; he failed. The problem has since metastasized into a potential powder keg to lead to a third global war.
To conclude my article, here is Egypt's PJ Media reporting on the origins of the Islamic State and one of the most recent developments. Once you have finished, I want you all to comment with your thoughts. There appears to be no consensus as to how the Islamic State was formed, and I have used several sources within this article:
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