Coornhert Model United Nations 2016 The question of the Islamic State: General Overview GOUDA 2016 BY CONFERENCE TOPIC EXPERT: IMRE ROSSEL
Introduction In the summer of 2014 the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), shocked the world by quickly conquering vast areas of Syria and Iraq. Out of the blue this al- Qaeda offshoot was able to easily defeat Iraqi, Syrian and Kurdish forces. Not only did its rapid rise shock the international community, so did its extreme use of violence. The images of mass executions and beheadings were seen and condemned all over the world. In June 2014 ISIS declared to have founded a caliphate, a religious state based on Sharia- law, and renamed itself the Islamic state (IS) 19 months later IS still dominates the headlines. The caliphate forms a toxic attraction to young Jihadists all over the globe, and many have joined its ranks. Foreign interventions have largely been able to stop its advance, but the battle is still going on. Because of its extreme violence and uncompromising words, IS has practically made the entire world its enemy. Despite the overall opposition to IS, the battlefield is still enormously complicated, especially in Syria, and many parties are not only fighting against IS, but against each other as well. The military history of the Islamic state IS originally started out as Jama at al Tawhid w al Jihad (JTJ), which was founded by Abu Musab Al- Zarqawi. The group operated in Iraq fighting the American army and had an ideology very similar to that of Al- Qaeda. In 2004 JTJ swore allegiance to Al- Qaeda, thus becoming Al- Qaeda in Iraq. After the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, the group expended its operations there as well, while still being a part of Al- Qaeda. In January 2013, the group captured the Syrian city of Raqqa, which nowadays is its capital. In January 2014 it came to a split between Al- Qaeda and ISIS, most likely due to Al- Qaeda leader al Zawahiri s annoyance over the growing influence of Abu- Bakr Al Baghdadi (The current IS leader). In the following months after the split, ISIS managed to take advantage of the chaos and turmoil the region. The Syrian army had been weakened by the on- going civil war. The Iraqi army, on the other hand, by corruption. ISIS quickly managed to expand its territory and declared The economist. IS territory in June 2014 1
itself a caliphate, and changed its name to IS. The most spectacular of its victories is no doubt the capture of Mosul, a major city in north- Iraq with over 2,5 million inhabitants. With only 1300 men IS managed to defeat a force of 60.000 men in only 4 days. The explanation of this spectacular victory is exemplary for the situation in Iraq as a whole; the 60.000 men charged with the defence of Mosul were badly armed and badly supplied. The Iraqi army was plagued by corruption and did not manage to provide its soldiers with the means necessary to fight effectively. It is very important to keep in mind that there are multiple branches of Islam, the biggest two being Sunni Islam and Shia Islam. The government in Iraq was largely dominated by Shia Muslims, and was perceived by many Sunni Iraqis as an occupation force. Many inhabitants of Mosul, and other places where IS currently holds power, saw IS as a liberation force that freed them from Shia occupation. IS did not only fight the governments of Iraq and Syria, they also waged war against the Kurds. The Kurds live in North- Syria and North- Iraq, and their Peshmerga (Kurdish militia) forces have been one of the most effective forces against IS. Although IS managed to capture small parts of Kurdistan (the area where the Kurds live, it s not an officially recognized state), they were quickly driven back. The United States got involved in the fight against IS in the summer of 2014 when it sent military trainers to assist Iraqi forces. On the 8 th of August the US started bombing IS in Iraq, and it started to bomb IS in Syria as well, the US also decided to bomb the Al- Qaeda affiliated Al- Nusra front in Syria. In Iraq the Americans were quickly joined by other western nations, being the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, France, Canada and Australia, as well as Jordan and Morocco. In Syria the US was joined by Canada, Australia, Saudi- Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Morocco, Turkey later joined them. After the attacks in Paris on the 13 th of November, France joined the fight as well, later followed by the UK. On the 30 th of September the Russian Federation started to become involved in Syria as well. The Russian involvement mainly had the goal to support the government of Assad, and has been accused by NATO of bombing the more moderate rebels in Syria, who oppose IS and Assad. 2
Due to the foreign bombardments and military support for the Kurds and other more moderate rebels the advance of IS has been halted. In 2015 the territory of IS has shrunk by approximately 9%. It now wages a kind of guerrilla warfare, but still dominates large parts of Syria and Iraq. Multiple Jihadist organisations outside Iraq and Syria have sworn allegiance to IS as well, small fractions of the Taliban in Afghanistan now call themselves IS, as do multiple militias in Libya. The terrorist organisation Boko Haram from Nigeria has also declared its allegiance to IS. It is however very unlikely that the Islamic State is in direct control of any of those organisations. The ideology of IS The ideology adhered by IS and its followers is one of the most, if not the most, extreme interpretations of Sunni Islam. It is an extreme interpretation of Salafism and Whahabism (which already are among the most radical interpretations). IS seeks to establish and expand a caliphate based on their interpretation of the Qur an and Sharia- law. IS seeks to purge this caliphate of all infidels which to their interpretation are not only apostates and atheists, but also Jews and Christians (who are considered brothers of the book in most interpretations of Islam) and even Shia Muslims, and Sunni Muslims who do not share the same interpretation of Islam as IS does. Some of those purges have already taken place, for example the genocide IS committed on the Yazidis, a group of ethnic Kurds who follow a religion similar to Islam. The men and boys were murdered, the young children trained to become IS soldiers, and the women and girls kept as (sex) slaves, to be sold at will. These might seem like useless acts of violence, but the IS soldiers consider them their holy duty. Much like the medieval crusaders considered slaughtering Muslims to be a pious deed. 3
Important dates January 2013: Al- Qaeda in Iraq captures Raqqa February 2014: Al- Qaeda and ISIS split Summer of 2014: ISIS makes enormous territorial gains in Syria and Iraq June 10 th 2014: ISIS captures Mosul Summer of 2014: ISIS declares itself a caliphate, changes its name to IS August 2014: US- led coalition starts bombing IS in Iraq September 2014: US- led coalition start bombing IS in Syria June 2015: IS gets driven out of Kobani by the Kurds November 13 th 2015: Paris attacks claimed by IS November 25 th 2015: Turkey shoots down Russian plane December 3th 2015: UK starts bombing IS in Syria Involved parties Islamic State The Islamic State is a violent Jihadi group that has established a caliphate in Syria and Iraq. It seeks to expand its territory and is fighting almost all of the other factions in Iraq and Syria to do so. Kurds The Kurds are an ethnic group whose territory is spread across Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. They seek to establish their own state in Iraq and Syria, and are fighting Assad, IS, and other Jihadists to do so. They are supported by the west with weapons and military training. United States of America The United States of America are the leading force in the anti- IS coalition they have assembled. They are deploying air strikes in both Syria and Iraq, and reportedly have Special Forces fighting on the ground. Besides IS, the Americans also fight Jabath Al- Nusra, and want president Assad of Syria to resign. Republic of Turkey Turkeys role is quite complicated, the country has ignored the threat of IS for a long time and did little to protect its borders to prevent IS from being supplied. Turkey is also quite hostile to the Kurdish forces, since the Kurds and the Turkish government have clashed in the past and Turkey fears that military success in Iraq and Syria might cause its own Kurdish 4
population to aim for independence. In the past few months Turkey has started bombing IS as well as the Kurdish forces. Turkey strongly opposes president Assad of Syria, but has not taken any military action against it. On the 24 th of November Turkey shot down a Russian military jet that violated Turkish air space. This has brought increased tensions between Russia and Turkey, which is backed by NATO. The Assad Regime Although initially thought to be the biggest threat to peace in Syria, president Assad is now more and more seen as the lesser of two evils when it comes to him and IS. His regime is supported By Iraq, Iran and the Russian Federation, which enables it to keep on the fight. Assad s forces are fighting the IS, other Jihadists and the Kurds, although its relations with the western nations is bad, it has never come to a military confrontation. Russian Federation The Russian Federation is involved in the conflict from the beginning by supporting the government of Assad in Syria. The past few months is has become an active player by using air strikes, and reportedly special forces. The main goal of Russia is sustaining the government of Assad, which means it doesn t only fight IS, but the more moderate rebels who pose a threat to Assad as well. There are tensions between Russia and the NATO, which have been worsened by the Russian plane that was shot down by Turkey. Islamic Republic of Iran Iran plays a large role in the Middle east being the major Shia player. Iran supports the Shia Iraqi government and the regime of Assad, which is Alawite (which is form of Islam within the Shia branch). Iraqi government At the moment the Iraqi government mainly controls the parts of Iraq where the Shia form a majority. The government itself is mainly made up out of Shia, and it fights the Sunni Jihadists and IS. The Iraqi government is supported by Iran and the USA. Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA) is a coalition consisting of moderate rebels in Syria. The FSA is supported by western nations, but has not been very effective in fighting the more radical rebels or Assad. Jabath al Nusra Jabath Al- Nusra is the Al- Qaeda affiliated Jihadist group in Syria. They are fighting against IS, the Kurds, the FSA and Assad. Jabath Al- Nusra is being bombarded by the USA. 5
United Kingdom As a long term ally, the UK mostly follows the line of the US in this war. The UK has used air strikes in Iraq since late 2014, and has only recently begun air strikes in Syria as well. The air strikes are still highly controversial in the UK itself, and may be subject to change in the future Republic of France France has used air strikes in Iraq since late 2014, but has only recently begun bombarding in Syria, following the attacks in Paris on the 13 th of November 2015. Although originally one of the main adversaries of president Assad, France has declared IS to be the focus since the Paris attacks. Saudi- Arabia Although opposed to IS, Saudi- Arabia plays a rather dubious role in the conflict. Many private donors of IS hail from this Gulf State, and for a long time little has been done to oppose them. The growing influence of the Shia and Iran is one of the main concerns for Saudi- Arabia, and it is fighting proxy wars in multiple places in the Middle East to oppose it, such as in Yemen. Saudi- Arabia is a close military and oil trade partner of the USA. 6
Bibliography I. Wood, Graeme. "What ISIS Really Wants." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 15 Feb. 2015. Web. 13 Dec. 2015. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/03/what-isis-reallywants/384980/ II. Rogio, Bill. ISIS Announces Formation of Caliphate, Rebrands as Islamic State The Long War Journal. The Long War Journal. Longwarjournal.org, 29 June 2014. Web. 13 Dec. 2015. http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/06/isis_announces_formation_of _ca.php III. Farwana, Walead. "The History of the Islamic State - Antiwar.com Original."Antiwar.com Original. Antiwar.com, 23 Aug. 2014. Web. 13 Dec. 2015. http://original.antiwar.com/walead_farwana/2014/08/23/the-history-of-theislamic-state/ IV. Baker, Aryn. "Why Al-Qaeda Kicked Out Its Deadly Syria Franchise." Time. Time, 3 Feb. 2014. Web. 13 Dec. 2015. http://time.com/3469/why-al-qaedakicked-out-its-deadly-syria-franchise/ V. Cockburn, Patrick. The Rise of Islamic State: ISIS and the New Sunni Revolution. Vol. 2. New York/London: Verso, 2014,2015. VI. BBC. "Syria Crisis: Nato Renews Pledge amid Russia 'escalation' - BBC News." BBC News. BBC, 8 Oct. 2015. Web. 13 Dec. 2015. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34471849 VII. Beauchamp, Zack. "Map: ISIS Has Lost 9.4 Percent of Its Territory This Year." Vox. Vox.world, 30 July 2015. Web. 13 Dec. 2015. http://www.vox.com/2015/7/30/9069705/isis-map-10-percent VIII. Strack, Columb. "Islamic State Territory Shrinks by 9.4% in First Six Months of 2015." Islamic State Territory Shrinks by 9.4% in First Six Months of 2015. IHS Jane's 360, 27 July 2015. Web. 13 Dec. 2015. http://www.janes.com/article/53239/islamic-state-territory-shrinks-by-9-4-infirst-six-months-of-2015#.vbeipb_wers.twitter 7