DAESH

{{bronze}}{{update}}
[[File:AQMI_Flag.svg|thumb|
A bunch of dildos
<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jun/29/cnn-sex-toy-banner-isis-flag-pride-london-dildo CNN withdraws video that confused sex-toy banner with ISIS flag]</ref> DAESH's version of the {{wpl|Black Standard#Jihadist black flag|jihadist black flag|,}} featuring the {{wpl|Shahada|''shahada''|,}} with the latter part inscribed on a white impression of the {{wpl|Seal of Muhammad|Seal of Muhammad|.}} Several other jihadist groups have also used this flag design.]]
{{islam}}
{{cquote|[[Fascism]] and [[Nazism]] are psychologically far sounder than any hedonistic conception of life. [...] Whereas [[socialism]], and even [[capitalism]] in a more grudging way, have said to people "I offer you a good time," [[Hitler]] has said to them "I offer you struggle, danger and [[death]]," and as a result a whole nation flings itself at his feet.|||[[George Orwell]], making a very ominous statement about the human psyche<ref>[https://bookmarks.reviews/george-orwells-1940-review-of-mein-kampf/ "George Orwell's 1940 Review of ''Mein Kampf''"]</ref>}}
{{cquote|Daesh hates being referred to by this term, and what they don’t like has an instinctive ­appeal to me. I absolutely refuse to refer to it by the title that it claims for itself (Islamic State), because I think this is a perversion of religion and a travesty of governance. I’ve never used that term and I would strongly counsel people against ever using the presumptuous title that they have given themselves.|||[[Tony Abbott]] having a [[stopped clock]] for once.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150111232553/https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/pm-tony-abbott-baits-jihadis-with-hated-daesh-tag/story-fni0fiyv-1227181490381 PM Tony Abbott baits jihadis with hated Daesh tag] by Ellen Whinnett (January 11, 2015 10:00PM) ''Herald Sun'', Melbourne (archived from January 11 2015).</ref>}}
The '''Islamic State in Iraq and Syria''' ('''ISIS''') or '''Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant''' ('''ISIL'''), was previously known as the '''Islamic State in Iraq''' ('''ISI'''), the '''Mujahideen Shura Council''',<ref name="McClatchy">[http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/world/middle-east/article24768790.html Some answers about the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria], McClatchy</ref> '''Organization of Jihad's Base in Mesopotamia''' (informally referred to as '''[[al-Qaeda]] in Iraq''')<ref name="JamestownFoundation20041018">{{cite journal|last1=Pool|first1=Jeffrey|title=Zarqawi's Pledge of Allegiance to Al-Qaeda: From Mu'Asker Al-Battar, Issue 21|journal=Terrorism Monitor|date=16 December 2004|volume=2|issue=24|page=The Jamestown Foundation|url=http://www.jamestown.org/publications_details.php?volume_id=400&issue_id=3179&article_id=2369020|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070930180847/http://www.jamestown.org/publications_details.php?volume_id=400&issue_id=3179&article_id=2369020|archivedate=30 September 2007|accessdate=30 July 2014}}</ref> and '''Organization of Monotheism and Jihad'''<ref name="Msnbc20041018">{{cite news|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6268680/|agency=Associated Press|publisher=NBC News|title=Al-Zarqawi group vows allegiance to bin Laden|date=18 October 2004|accessdate=13 July 2007}}</ref><ref>After numerous defections of leaders & fighters from the Kurdish based [http://www.aymennjawad.org/2015/12/a-complete-history-of-jamaat-ansar-al-islam Ansar al-Islam].</ref> and currently self-describes itself as the '''Islamic State'''<ref>[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28730618 Iraqi Kurdish leader Barzani seeks weapons to fight IS], BBC</ref> (they ''really'' like changing their name). The Arabic World knows them pejoratively by the acronym '''داعش''', typically {{wpl|Romanization of Arabic|romanized}} as '''DAESH'''. This acronym is basically just the Arabic version of "ISIL", based on the Arabic name ''ad-'''Da'''wlah al-'''I'''slāmiyah fīl-ʿ'''I'''rāq wash-'''Sh'''ām''. Its use is considered pejorative because it sounds similar to the Arabic words دائس (Daes) and داهس (dahes), that both describe someone who "tramples" upon others i.e. an oppressor. Since the romanization of Arabic is typically based on pronunciation rather than spelling, some confusion may arise from several letters of the English acronym not matching any initial letters of the Arabic transliteration. If this bothers you, feel free to pretend it stands for '''D'''umb '''A'''sshole '''E'''xtremist '''S'''hi'a '''H'''aters instead.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/09/17/france-is-ditching-the-islamic-state-name-and-replacing-it-with-a-label-the-group-hates/ France is ditching the ‘Islamic State’ name — and replacing it with a label the group hates], ''Washington Post''</ref>

The group is a violent [[Salafism|Salafi]]-[[jihadist]], militaristic, expansionist, and anti-[[Shi'a]] [[terrorist]] group consisting of insurgents and foreign fighters active in [[Iraq]] and [[Syria]],<ref name="McClatchy"/> and has many affiliated groups operating in other countries, most notably [[Libya]] and [[Nigeria]] (with the group [[Boko Haram]]). 

A crucial factor in the emergence of DAESH was the chaos, power vacuum, and the subsequent discriminatory Shi'a-dominated government backed by the US and its Coalition in the wake of the second [[Iraq War]]. The corrupt government, led by Nouri al-Maliki, alienated and disenfranchised huge portions of Iraqi [[Sunni]] populations, despite US attempts to increase Sunni involvement in the government such as the Sunni Awakening. In an interview with CNN, former Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]], during whose tenure the UK joined the US in the invasion, was asked whether the invasion had been the "principal cause" of the rise of DAESH. Blair candidly replied: "I think there are elements of truth in that."<ref>[http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/25/tony-blair-sorry-iraq-war-mistakes-admits-conflict-role-in-rise-of-isis Tony Blair makes qualified apology for Iraq war ahead of Chilcot report: Former British PM admits ‘mistakes’ and conflict’s role in rise of Islamic State but defends armed intervention in 2003] by Nicholas Watt (25 Oct 2015 06.57 EDT) ''The Guardian''.</ref> At the second Democratic Debate of presidential candidates for the 2016 U.S. election, [[Bernie Sanders]] declared: "I would argue that the disastrous invasion of Iraq, something that I strongly opposed, has unraveled the region completely ... and led to the rise of al-Qaeda and to ISIS."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20151119043046/http://hollywoodlife.com/2015/11/14/bernie-sanders-attacks-hillary-clinton-iraq-invasion-isis-democratic-debate/ Bernie Sanders Slams Hillary Clinton For Supporting Iraq War: Led To ISIS Attack On Paris?] by Lauren Cox (November 14, 2015 10:08pm EST) ''Hollywood Life'' (archived from November 19, 2015).</ref>

Republicans have been keen to link the rise of DAESH to [[Fun:Barack HUSSEIN Obama|Barack HUSSEIN 
Osama
]] [[Barack Obama|Obama]]'s disastrous Middle East policies, claiming that he underestimated the threat posed by the group. [[President of the United States|President]] and professional dickhead [[Donald Trump]] has even gone so far as to suggest that he is the literal founder of DAESH, with [[Hillary Clinton|"Crooked Hillary"]] being the co-founder.<ref>Siddiqui, Sabrina (11 August 2016). [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/11/donald-trump-calls-barack-obama-the-founder-of-isis "Donald Trump calls Obama the 'founder of Isis'"]. ''[[The Guardian]]''.</ref> To which a Clinton surrogate issued a [[tu quoque]] statement that "[[Donald Trump|Trump]] and his friend [[Vladimir Putin|Putin]]" were the ''real'' founders of DAESH.<ref>Tim, Hains (August 14, 2016). [http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/08/14/sen_claire_mccaskill_donald_trump_and_vladimir_putin_are_the_real_founders_of_isis.html "Sen. Claire McCaskill: "Trump And His Friend Putin" Are The Real Founders Of ISIS"]. ''Real Clear Politics.''</ref> Neither of which, incidentally, is true. The truth is that ISIS can trace its origins back to as early as 1999, when it was founded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, as an extremist anti-Shi'a organization called Jamaat al-Tawhid wa-l-Jihad.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200204163532/https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/ResearchNote_20_Zelin.pdf The War between ISIS and al-Qaeda for Supremacy of the Global Jihadist Movement] by Aaron Y. Zelin (June 2014) ''The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Research Note'' 20:1-11.</ref><ref>[https://2001-2009.state.gov/p/nea/rls/31694.htm Zarqawi Letter] (February 2004) ''U.S. Department of State''.</ref> Zarqawi had an extreme hatred of the Shi'a, blaming them for nearly everything that had ever gone wrong in the history of Islam, including the failure of the Ottoman Empire to conquer all of Europe. Additionally, he had an unsurprising hatred of "[[Paganism|polytheists]]", Americans, Jews, Kurds, and anyone who disagreed with him. 

In 2014, DAESH seized a significant amount of turf in Syria and Iraq and declared the occupied territories they controlled to be a sovereign state and a new [[Caliphate]] under the leadership of [[Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi]]. The Iraqi Army, under the Western-backed government, was a highly-corrupt institution and was unable to stop even a qualitatively-worse opponent. Local jihadist bands in the non-contiguous areas of [[Yemen]], [[Saudi Arabia]], Sinai, Gaza,<ref>[http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/isis-declares-war-israel-islamic-state-affiliate-gaza-strip-threatens-worse-coming-1504455 Isis declares war on Israel: Islamic State affiliate in Gaza Strip threatens 'worse is coming'] by Arij Limam & Orlando Crowcroft (06/04/15 AT 1:18 PM BST) ''International Business Times''.</ref> [[Afghanistan]], [[Pakistan]],<ref>[http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2015/01/islamic_state_appoin.php Islamic State appoints leaders of 'Khorasan province,' issues veiled threat to Afghan Taliban], ''Longwar Journal'', January 27, 2015.</ref> [[Libya]], [[Algeria]], the [[Philippines]], the Caucasus, and several Central Asian republics as well as Muslim-majority regions of the [[Russia]]n Federation have sworn allegiance to the Caliphate, and many now are considered by the Islamic State as provinces.<ref>[https://pietervanostaeyen.wordpress.com/2014/11/14/audio-message-by-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-even-if-the-disbelievers-despise-such/ Audio Message by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi – Even if the Disbelievers Despise Such], November 13th, 2014, by Pieter Van Ostaeyen, pietervanostaeyen.wordpress.com </ref> Nigeria's [[Boko Haram]] movement has expressed support for Baghdadi as Caliph<ref>[http://www.onislam.net/english/news/africa/476585-nigerias-boko-haram-joins-islamic-state.html Nigeria’s Boko Haram Joins ‘Islamic State’], 25 August 2014. onislam.net</ref> and has ostensibly been accepted by DAESH as part of the Islamic State.<ref>
[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-31862992 IS 'accepts' Boko Haram allegiance]
</ref> DAESH also boasts legions of lone-wolf operatives worldwide in the global jihad.

== Internal organization and ideology ==

DAESH is a peculiar amalgamation of [[Salafism]]/{{wpl|takfirism}} and [[Ba'ath Party|Ba'athism]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150424234949/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/20/former-saddam-spy-masterminded-the-rise-of-islamic-state-says-report Former Saddam Hussein spy masterminded the rise of Isis, says report | World news | The Guardian (Wayback Machine copy)] </ref> The dominant strain believes in an absolute rejection of any innovation ({{wpl|Bid'ah|''bid'ah''}}) since the times of Mohammad. Any diversion from a literal reading of the 
Gospel According To Wile E. Coyote<ref>[http://www.themideastbeast.com/isis-abandons-quran-peaceful-adopts-gospel-according-wile-e-coyote/ ISIS Abandons Qur’an For Being Too Peaceful, Adopts Gospel According To Wile E. Coyote - The Mideast Beast]</ref>
 [[Qur'an]] and the [[Hadith]] is [[blasphemy]], and must be eradicated. All people and cultures judged as not conforming to DAESH's interpretation of Islam, which notably includes [[Jews]], "[[Crusades|Crusaders]]" ([[Western world|Westerners]] and [[Christianity|Christians]]), "Rafidah"<ref name="rafida"/> (principally [[Iran]]ians but applies to all Shi'a), {{wpl|Alawites||,}} gays,<ref>[http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33565055 Why my own father would have let IS kill me] (23 July 2015) ''BBC News''</ref> and [[atheist]]s, are to be [[Genocide|annihilated]].<ref>[https://ansarukhilafah.wordpress.com/tag/statement/ SO THEY KILL AND ARE KILLED] BY {{wpl|Abu Mohammad al-Adnani||,}} March 13, 2015, ansarukhilafah</ref>

The other strand in its hierarchy and leadership is [[Ba'ath Party|Ba'athism]], a network of disenfranchised military commanders from the [[Iraq#de-Ba.27athification|de-Baathification]] process who joined forces while sitting in American prison camps between 2008 and 2010.<ref group=note><small>"the DAESH leadership council is 100 percent Iraqi, saying that Baghdadi would not accept any other nationality, since [[Paranoia|he does not trust anyone]]. The number of people in the council always changes, ranging between 8 and 13 people. The leadership of the council is held by three former Iraqi army officers who served during the regime of Saddam Hussein." [http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/18186 January 10, 2014]. They are, Abu Ayman al-Iraqi aka Abu Mohammad al Sweidawi, Senior Leader and Member of the Military Council, Former Colonel in Saddam-era Air Force Intelligence; and Abu Abdulrahman al Bilawi aka Adnan Ismail Najm, Former Senior leader of Military Council, Killed in Anbar Province June 2014; Fadil Ahmad Abdallah Hayyali aka Abu Muslim al Turkmani, Deputy to al-Baghdadi, Former Lt. Col. in Saddam-era military intelligence, reported dead near Mosul November 2014.</small></ref> Even though Ba'athists are [[secular]] and always enforced a separation of religion and state, they have been credited with DAESH's military successes.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/19/world/middleeast/former-loyalists-of-saddam-hussein-crucial-in-helping-isis.html?ref=world Uneasy Alliance Gives Insurgents an Edge in Iraq - NYTimes.com]</ref> Ba'athists share with the Salafi leadership of DAESH a desire for rule by a self-appointed elite clique behind a single leader. The Ba'athist commanders see the Salafi-jihad ideology as more powerful a motivating force than stale secular political ideologies. 

It remains to be seen how enthusiastically the Ba'athist military commanders will embrace the Salafi/takfiri ideology themselves.<ref>[http://soufangroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/TSG-The-Islamic-State-Nov14.pdf The Islamic State], Richard Barrett, The Soufan Group, November 2014.</ref>

The main cabinet of DAESH at the height of its success had six members responsible for the areas of general management, prisons, security, finance, transport, and recruitment of foreign jihadis.<ref>[http://www.mapsofworld.com/islamic-state/ Islamic State | Map, ISIS History, Funding, News and Latest Updates]</ref>

=== Financing ===

[[File:Female Yezidi resistance fighters - YJÊ.jpg|thumb|250px|Kurdish-trained women's self-defense forces in Iraq.]]

Unlike most terrorist organizations, DAESH is well-funded and its fanatical soldiers are said to be surprisingly competent fighters who are "very professional, well trained, motivated and equipped. They operate like a state with a military."<ref>[http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/isis-incredible-fighting-force-us-special-ops-sources/story?id=25116463 ISIS an 'Incredible' Fighting Force, US Special Ops Sources Say], ABC</ref> This isn't true as much anymore, seeing as tens of thousands of their fighters have been killed either by coalition airstrikes or in battle.

In its heyday, al-Qaeda was making about $25 to $30 million per year according to intelligence estimates; by contrast, DAESH was raking in approximately $2 million a day off its stolen oil wells (at mid 2014 prices), looted at least $400 million in cash and cash equivalents when it overran the Bank of Mosul, and has collected seven figure ransoms off its kidnapping ventures. Other sources include trafficking in women and children, selling dope, extortion, artifact looting from ancient sites (when not destroying the sites), and selling artifacts on black markets.

Amidst news that DAESH executed 19 girls<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3186229/ISIS-executes-19-girls-refusing-sex-fighters-envoy-reveals-sex-slaves-peddled-like-barrels-petrol.html ''MailOnline:'' ISIS executes 19 girls for refusing to have sex with fighters as UN envoy reveals how sex slaves are 'peddled like barrels of petrol']</ref> who didn't want to play their given roles in the fruition of the [[Divine command theory|divine plan]], the following document was revealed — a translation<ref group=note>A translated version of the document was shared online by humanitarian and peace prize winner Dr Widad Akrawi.</ref> of an actual, UN-verified<ref>[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-03/sex-slaves-sold-by-islamic-state-the-younger-the-better ''Bloomberg:'' Islamic State Circulates Sex Slave Price List]</ref> DAESH "pricing menu" aimed at discerning militant shoppers on the lookout for additional rape-slaves;

{{quotebox|We have received news that the demand in Women and Cattle market has sharply decreased and that will affect Islamic State revenues as well as the funding of mujahideen in the battlefield, therefore we have made some changes. Below are the prices for Yazidi and Christian women.

The price for Yazidi or Christian women between the age of 40 - 50 is $43 (£27)

$75 (£48) for 30 to 40-year-olds

$86 (£55) for 20 to 30-year-olds

$130 (£83) for ten to 20-year-olds

$172 (£110) for one to nine-year-olds

Customers are allowed to purchase only three items with the exception of customers from Turkey, Syria and Gulf countries. 

Dated and sealed by ISIS in Iraq October 16, 2014.}}

Buyers beware of your rights ("only three items per customer!"), as the document contains no money back or return policy for if and when these women have been driven past the point of self-mutilation and [[suicide]]. The DAESH clerical promise that [[Allah]] condones this practice will simply "have to do" in terms of additional benefits for the poor militants.

Although the above document was verified by a senior UN official, blogger and the Middle East Forum fellow Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi argued that the document is a forgery.<ref>[http://www.aymennjawad.org/2015/12/guide-to-islamic-state-document-hoaxes Guide to Islamic State Document Hoaxes]</ref> However, Yazidi rights activist Nadia Murad gave a first-person account of gang rape (euphemistically called "sexual jihad") and of women and girls as young as 10-years old being sold as sex slaves.<ref>[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35687900 Yazidi activist: My escape from 'Islamic State'] by Sarah Montague (29 February 2016) ''BBC''.</ref>

=== Regional and outside allegiances ===

[[File:Attentat Nyanya VOA2.jpg|thumb|250px|Aftermath of a Boko Haram attack in Nigeria.]]

In November 2014, DAESH leader Ibrahim al-Badri announced the formation of ''wilayats'', or provinces of the Islamic State within [[Libya]], [[Algeria]], [[Yemen]], the Sinai, and Saudi Arabia. Badri further acknowledged followers in Tunisia and Morocco without granting them ''wilayat'' status. The 5th edition of DAESH's propaganda rag ''Dabiq'' the same month acknowledged supporters in “Khurasan (Afghanistan), al-Qawqaz (Caucasus), [[Indonesia]], Nigeria, the [[Philippines]], and elsewhere.” DAESH claimed it would establish wilayat in these areas eventually, with "either the appointment or recognition of leadership by the Khalifah for those lands where multiple groups have given bay’at (allegiance) and merged, or the establishment of a direct line of communication between the Khalifah and the mujahid leadership of lands who have yet to contact the Islamic State and thus receive information and directives from the Khalifah."

With the defection of Boko Haram in West Africa from al-Qaeda, DAESH's manpower was estimated to have risen 40-50%, from about 30,000 to about 45,000. Additionally, while regional and Western powers were able to make it somewhat more difficult for foreign fighters to access Syria and Iraq, Boko Haram controlled territories of West Africa have opened a second front for foreign recruits.

A database of personal data on 22,000 names and personal data was stolen from the head of the DAESH internal security police, and was obtained by Western security forces from a DAESH defector in March 2016.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/03/10/world/europe/ap-islamic-state-files.html?_r=0 Germany: Files Listing Islamic State Fighters Are Authentic] MARCH 10, 2016, 4:28 P.M. E.S.T. ''Associated Press''</ref> The independent Syrian news site ''Zaman Al Wasl'' reported that the 1736 fighters were from 40 countries but that only 1.7% were Syrian vs. 25% Saudi, where the highest number of fighters originate.<ref>[https://en.zamanalwsl.net/news/14541.html Exclusive: 1736 documents reveal ISIS jihadists personal data] (2016-03-08 22:08:09) ''Zaman Al Wasl''.</ref> However, due to battlefield defections, it is entirely possible that Daesh leadership intentionally allowed the fighters' names to slip so foreign fighters would not leave for fear of being prosecuted by their home countries.

=== Corruption ===
The city of Raqqa in Syria was known as the unofficial capital of DAESH. In February 2015, it was reported that the Governor of Raqqa was executed for plotting a coup against the leadership.<ref>[http://www.ibtimes.com/isis-raqqa-governor-allegedly-executed-prompting-wave-arrests-defection-1802820 ISIS Raqqa 'Governor' Allegedly Executed, Prompting Wave Of Arrests For Defection]</ref>  Mass arrests and mass executions of foreign volunteers along with stolen cash and defections have also been reported.<ref>[http://aranews.net/2015/02/islamic-state-executes-prominent-members-planned-coup/ Islamic State executes prominent members who planned coup - ARA News]</ref> Tensions have been reported in the ranks because of inequitable [[income inequality|pay disparities]] and distribution of the loot between foreign fighters — usually Europeans — and the local homies from Syria or Iraq.<ref>[http://www.wsj.com/articles/islamic-state-feels-growing-pains-1425903933 Splits in Islamic State Emerge as Its Ranks Expand - WSJ]</ref>

=== Managing the occupation ===
[[File:Islamic-state-fighters-banter-about-enslaved-yazidi-girls-in-video-1414944027.jpg|right|320px|thumb|Captured ''kufr''<ref name="kufr"/> women herded off to a [[slave]] market. Prices range between $10 to $172 based on age according to the official government recommended price list. Girls below the age of 9 are the most costly.<ref>[http://www.iraqinews.com/features/exclusive-isis-document-sets-prices-christian-yazidi-slaves/ ISIS document sets prices of Christian and Yazidi slaves], By Abdelhak Mamoun - Nov 3, 2014. iraqinews.com</ref>]]
While DAESH is said to place a high premium on the religious views of its foreign recruits, it suffers from a shortage of qualified imams in towns under its occupation in Eastern Syria and Western Iraq. It has been forced to use imams with limited religious training in Sunni-controlled mosques of the Naqshbandi order or its Khaznawi branch before DAESH arrived.<ref>[http://en.alalam.ir/news/1669761#sthash.dcvptbV2.dpuf Secret Programs in ISIS Training Camps; Sharia or Sword], January 25, 2015.</ref>

The {{wpl|Al-Khansaa Brigade}} is an all-female police force tasked with compelling compliance from women with the organization's religious decrees. Extreme cruelty and human rights abuses by the women have been reported.<ref>[http://syriadirect.org/news/how-the-islamic-state-uses-women-to-control-women/ How the Islamic State uses women to control women - Syria Direct]</ref> Women under the age of 50 are forbidden to travel without a ''mahrim'', a male escort of sorts, and everyone is required to possess travel documents and IDs issued by the local shariah Gestapo. Travel to ''kufr''<ref name="kufr">Arabic for "[[infidel]]"</ref> lands is forbidden, ''except for medical purposes'' where [[infidel]]s have been blessed by [[Allah]] with superior medical knowledge and treatment facilities.<ref>Archive of Islamic State Administrative Documents, by Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, Jan 27, 2015. [http://www.aymennjawad.org/2015/01/archive-of-islamic-state-administrative-documents Specimen M: On Movement of Women and the Garages: Raqqa Province]</ref>

A recruitment guidebook for foreign fighters advertises, "There are no classes promoting [[homosexuality]], [[evolution]], music, drama, [[Ecumenism|interfaith]], and the rest of the rubbish taught in non-Muslim schools. Your [[think of the children|child’s delicate mind]] is well and truly protected in the Caliphate.”<ref>[http://counterjihadreport.com/2015/05/27/the-newest-guide-on-isis-comparing-self-declared-caliphate-to-plush-holiday-resort/ The Newest Guide On ISIS: Comparing Self-Declared Caliphate to “Plush Holiday Resort” | The Counter Jihad Report]</ref>

===Foreign fighters===
[[File:Jihad recruiting poster.jpg|275px|right|thumb|'''Uncle Muhammad Wants You.''' Recruiting poster for foreign jihadis.<ref>[http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/virtues-sham-place-syria-muslim-sacral-imagination/ The Virtues of Sham: The Place of Syria in the Muslim Sacral Imagination] by Tam Hussein (Thursday, September 8th, 2016) ''Syria Comment''.</ref>]]
As of June 2015, DAESH is estimated to have successfully recruited 25,000 foreign fighters from 100 countries.<ref>[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32156541 UN says '25,000 foreign fighters' joined Islamist militants] (2 April 2015) ''BBC''.</ref> DAESH is estimated to have lost about 1200 fighters per month while adding approximately 1250 recruits per month between the fall of Mosul in mid 2014 and the fall of Ramadi in mid 2015.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20230000000000*/http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/war-islamic-state-discouraging-numbers The War on the Islamic State: Discouraging Numbers] by Ryan Mauro (May 14, 2015) ''The Clarion Project (archived from September 19, 2015).</ref> While American commanders boast of killing 10,000 jihadis since June 2014, DAESH's overall manpower strength has increased to where its foreign contingents alone equal overall estimates from the previous year.<ref>[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/iraq-war-on-terror/rise-of-isis/what-an-estimate-of-10000-isis-fighters-killed-doesnt-tell-us/ What an Estimate of 10,000 ISIS Fighters Killed Doesn’t Tell Us] by Priyanka Boghani (June 4, 2015) ''Frontline, PBS''.</ref>

One key recruitment tool for foreign fighters is the advertisement of female sex slaves from captured territories.<ref group=note>So much for women being sacred.</ref> Girls are said to be sold for as little as a pack of cigarettes ($12-13), according to U.N. Special Envoy Zainab Bangura.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/09/isis-slave-markets-sell-girls-for-as-little-as-a-pack-of-cigarettes-un-envoy-says sis slave markets sell girls for 'as little as a pack of cigarettes', UN envoy says: UN envoy on sexual violence says abducting girls has become a key part of Isis strategy to recruit foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria over the past 18 months] (8 Jun 2015 21.18 EDT) ''Agence France-Presse'' via ''The Guardian''.</ref>

The largest group comes from Saudi Arabia, followed by Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Turkey, Libya, Egypt, Lebanon, France, Belgium, the Russian Federation, and many other countries. A big concern is, even if DAESH were to be degraded and destroyed, these seasoned jihadis will be free to travel to their country of origin and continue their battle-hardened brainwashed jihad at home.<ref>[http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2014/11/western-foreign-fighters-in-syria-and-iraq-byman-shapiro/be-afraid--web.pdf Be Afraid. Be A Little Afraid: The Threat of Terrorism from Western Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraq] by Daniel Byman & Jeremy Shapiro (2014) ''Brookings Institute Policy Paper'' 34.</ref>

=== Racism and anti-Shi'ism ===
DAESH is responsible for the [[ethnic cleansing]] of all [[sect]]s and [[race]]s they disagree with,<ref>[http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE14/011/2014/en/1af20d2f-501a-4d5d-b7fc-b52719e8dfdf/mde140112014en.html Iraq: Ethnic Cleansing on Historic Scale], Amnesty International</ref> as well as consistent civilian casualties (they love to accept Black African converts, though). They give all civilians the option of forced conversion to their particular interpretation of [[Islam]], extortion, or death in an attempt to Sunnify and de-Shi'ify the Levant. Sometimes they execute converts anyway to keep them "pure". The brutality is such that an entire group of people absolutely no one heard of before August of 2014 (well, [[Satan#Yezedis|kinda]]), the [[Yazidi]]s, were at risk of [[genocide]]. Thousands of Yazidis were killed on 3rd August in the Yazidi majority town of Sinjar, and many more enslaved. Although considering their treatment of people under their rule, pretty much anyone non-Muslim, or a Muslim that isn't a Sunni (actually even then: [http://www.clarionproject.org/news/isis-executes-13-sunni-clerics-refusal-join-them ISIS executes 13 Sunni clerics for refusal to join them]), or a Muslim of a different ethnic group, or gay, or a woman, or… Well, suffice to say, genocide against the Yazidis would not be where they stop.

The group is also known for their anti-Shi'aism, and demonstrated this by attacking Shi'as and blowing up the Uwais al-Qarni Mosque in May 2014.<ref>[http://eaworldview.com/2014/05/syria-daily-another-96-killed-barrel-bombs-fall-aleppo/ Syria Daily, May 31: Another 96 Killed as Barrel Bombs Fall on Aleppo] eaworldview.com</ref> This requires a large bit of context, dating back to the 1979 Iranian revolution and the [[Saudi_Arabia#Attack_on_the_Grand_Mosque.2C_1979|1979 Grand Mosque takeover]]. Prior to the revolution, [[Iran]] and Saudi Arabia (and the US) were allies. Sure, one was Salafi (fundamentalist Sunni) and the other was mostly secular Shi'a, but hey, at least they weren't godless [[Communism|commies]]!

When [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi|the Shah]] was ousted from power by a number of people upset about being ruled by a Western-backed dictatorship, [[Ruhollah Khomeini|Ayatollah Khomeini]] maneuvered himself to the top of the heap. One of the first things he did was call for a worldwide revolution of all Shi'a Muslims, which scared just about every Sunni country with a Shi'a minority (e.g. Saudi Arabia). Soon after, but unrelated to the Ayatollah's call, a group ''more'' backward than the Saudis took hold of the Grand Mosque in Mecca and made calls for stricter [[Sharia]]. While we mock Saudi Arabia for being ultra-conservative, it's important to remember that there were large chunks of the population who were horrified when Saudi Arabia did such "progressive" things as legalizing photography and pretending to outlaw slavery. The Saudis were in a bit of a shock and initially assumed that the whole thing was staged by Iran. Iran was furious at the ultimately false accusation, but it didn't matter; the damage was done to Saudi-Iranian relations.

The Saudis responded in a number of ways, the relevant part was the denouncement of Shia in general; many Arabians who grew up in the 80's (e.g., the current leadership in ISIS) had been trained to believe that it was their divine duty to subjugate the Shia under Sunni "guidance". A number of events later, culminating in the Saudi decision to allow "foreign Crusaders" to station troops in Saudi Arabia to kill fellow Sunnis (the first Iraq War, because Allah forbid Saudi Arabia ever do it themselves), and a civil war of sorts occurred in the Salafi world. On one side was the mostly Saudi Salafis who still felt that the Saudis were the legitimate representatives of Islam, and the Salafis who did not. Both refer to themselves as "Salafi", but the latter refer to the former as "Wahhabi". While they agree on virtually everything else, one of the things they disagree on is the treatment of minorities. Whereas the Saudi Salafis were content with minorities (including Shia) existing so long as they were second or third class citizens, the other Salafis believed that the Wahhabis didn't go far enough and it was their divine duty was to ''eliminate'' everyone that wasn't a Salafi or a "people of the book" (Jews and Christians). Even then, the "people of the book" would eventually disappear one way or the other. There was disagreement on how this should be accomplished. Some such as the [[Muslim Brotherhood]] believe in (mostly) peacefully accomplishing this over a number of centuries through missionaries and so forth, relatively content so long as (fundamentalist) Islam was expanding.<ref>[http://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/testimony/353.pdf Report on the Roots of Violent Islamist Extremism and Efforts to Counter It: The Muslim Brotherhood]. Investigative Project on Terrorism. 2008 July 10.</ref> The members of al-Qaeda, [[Taliban]], ISIS, and so forth have the same goal of eventual world domination, but believe violence is acceptable if it gets to the conclusion sooner. And so, the rabid Shi'aphobia and other forms of anti-Shi'aism you see.

== Early phases of insurgency ==

[[File:U.S. Army soldier with captured ISIS flag in Iraq, December 2010.jpg|thumb|250px|US soldier with a captured DAESH flag, all the way back in 2010.]]

Originally founded by [[Abu Musab al-Zarqawi]] as the Group for [[Monotheism]] and Jihad, DAESH became known as [[al-Qaeda]] in Iraq in 2004 and later the Islamic State after the U.S. troop withdrawal in late 2011. It holds a designation as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States Department of State.<ref>[http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2014/05/226067.htm Terrorist Designations of Groups Operating in Syria], State.gov</ref> Its current leader [[Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi|Caliph Ibrahim al-Badri]]<ref>[http://cir.ca/news/prisoners-fuel-iraq-and-syria-extremism Former prisoners fueling extremist militias in Iraq and Syria], Circa</ref> was broken out of [[Abu Ghraib]] prison in July 2013 by DAESH along with several hundred other experienced jihadists.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/13/world/middleeast/escaped-inmates-from-iraq-fuel-syria-insurgency.html?_r=0 Escaped Inmates From Iraq Fuel Syrian Insurgency], ''The New York Times''</ref> On June 30, 2014, they declared themselves a Sunni [[caliphate]] with al-Badri as the “Commander of the Faithful,” a term essentially declaring him [[Bullshit|leader of all Muslims]] (which is not even true in Iraq, as fellow Sunni Kurds and Arabs fight against them).<ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-declares-new-islamic-state-in-middle-east-with-abu-bakr-albaghdadi-as-emir-removing-iraq-and-syria-from-its-name-9571374.html Iraq crisis: Isis changes name and declares its territories a new Islamic state with 'restoration of caliphate' in Middle East], ''The Independent''</ref>

=== Expelled from al-Qaeda ===
DAESH was disowned by al-Qaeda in April 2013 for excess brutality toward civilians and the murder of al-Qaeda representatives and commanders.<ref>[http://time.com/9555/al-qaeda-al-suri-syria-isis/ Al Qaeda’s Top Envoy Killed in Syria by Rival Rebel Group], ''TIME Magazine'', February 24, 2014.</ref> ([[Stopped clock|Yes, really.]]) Al-Nusra Front, the Syrian al-Qaeda branch, began fighting them. 

DAESH has not been known for building alliances; rather, it demands subservience and allegiance. In late 2014, reports emerged of local al-Nusra militias making truces and agreements for joint operations;<ref>[http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-syria-nusra-front-20141128-story.html#page=2 Islamic State, rival Al Nusra Front each strengthen grip on Syria - LA Times]</ref><ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/isis-nusra-front-agree-to-stop-fighting-each-other-in-syria-1.2834329 ISIS, Nusra Front agree to stop fighting each other in Syria - World - CBC News]</ref> however, this has proven to be misinformation and propaganda by DAESH to promote itself in the wider jihadist movement<ref>[http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/islamic-state-jabhat-al-nusra-looming-grand-jihadi-alliance/ The Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra: A Looming Grand Jihadi Alliance?], Aymenn Al-Tamimi, November 14th, 2014.</ref> and test their ability to manipulate mainstream Western media and influence their public image worldwide.

The remnants of [[Saddam]]'s disenfranchised [[Ba'athist]] militia (JRTN) who have not joined DAESH have been fighting the Iranian backed Shi'a government in Baghdad. They appear to be the leading Sunni alternative to DAESH. Early on, local militias representing JRTN and DAESH did cooperate in [[Kurdistan]], but later clashed in Anbar province.<ref>[http://www.aina.org/news/20141106161811.htm The Iraqi Sunni Actors Taking on the Islamic State], AINA, 2014-11-06 from http://www.janes.com </ref>

== Invasion and occupation commences ==
=== Obliterating the Sykes-Picot line ===
During and immediately after the {{wpl|Iraq War troop surge of 2007|U.S. troop surge of 2007|,}} core al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) commanders and jihadis crossed over the {{wpl|Sykes–Picot Agreement|Sykes-Picot line}} into Syria, beyond the reach of American forces as authorized by law.<ref>The [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Authorization_for_Use_of_Military_Force_Against_Iraq_Resolution_of_2002#SEC._3._AUTHORIZATION_FOR_USE_OF_UNITED_STATES_ARMED_FORCES. 2003 AUMF] limited operations to within Iraq.</ref> Here they regrouped and prepared for an eventual assault upon the Syrian government of [[Bashar al-Assad]], and a resumption of hostilities with the Shi'a-dominated Baghdad government as a draw-down of American forces took place with the change of control in [[Washington]] of [[Congress]] and the administration. When the time was right, DAESH advanced quickly across the Sykes-Picot and captured the city of Mosul &mdash; a city of 1,000,000 &mdash; with a force reported to be between 800 and 2,000 jihadis.<ref>[http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/11/mosul-isis-gunmen-middle-east-states Iraq army capitulates to Isis militants in four cities | World news | The Guardian]</ref>

In Mosul, DAESH seized 39,151 kg (about 88 pounds) of nuclear materials from the university's physics department.<ref>[http://www.janes.com/article/40725/analysis-the-strange-case-of-iraq-s-missing-uraniumAnalysis: The strange case of Iraq's missing uranium], Bob Kelley, IHS Janes 360, 14 July 2014.</ref> In December 2014, an alleged DAESH weapons maker claimed on social media a "[[Nuclear war#Dirty bomb|radioactive device]]" had entered [[Europe]].<ref>[http://ent.siteintelgroup.com/Jihadist-News/alleged-is-weapons-maker-claims-that-radioactive-device-has-entered-europe.html Alleged IS Weapons-Maker Claims that “Radioactive Device” has Entered Europe], 8 December 2014, SITE Intel.</ref>

In essence, the border in physical reality no longer exists, as DAESH has blown up most of the border posts. DAESH does not hold all of the border, however, as Iraqi Kurdistan still controls 150km of border with Syrian Kurdistan. Nonetheless, if you are a civilian living in DAESH territory in Syria and you want to visit friends or family in DAESH-held parts of Iraq, you can cross the border freely.

== Course of the war ==

[[File:CountriesAgainstIS.svg|thumb|400px|Nations at war with DAESH. DAESH (at its greatest extent in 2015) is in red, Coalition members are in blue, and other nation-state opponents are in green.]]

<!-- Arguably their most extraordinary feat to date is to get [[NATO]], [[Russia]], [[Syria]], [[Iran]], the [[Arab]] League, and Gulf States (yes, that includes [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Qatar]], and the [[UAE]]<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/23/arab-coalition-isis_n_5870298.html What Do America's Arab Partners Against ISIS Really Want?], ''Huffington Post''</ref>), the Kurdish [[nationalist]]s of Iraq and Syria, and the Kurdish [[Communist]]s<ref>The Kurdish Worker's Party (PKK) is a designated terrorist group by the U.S. State Dept.; during the Battle of Kobanî (October 3024 - February 2015) with strong PKK resistance to DAESH, NATO-aligned Turkey resisted any assistance to the PKK. [http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2014/0822/Terrorist-or-ally-A-Kurdish-militia-joins-the-fight-against-the-Islamic-State-video]</ref> of the Kurdistan Workers' Party to begin [[My enemy's enemy|coordinating resistance]]. The last person to inspire such a disparate coalition of "allies" was [[Adolf Hitler|a demented painter from Vienna]]. Indeed, some of their own members have left, disaffected by the degree of [[extremism]]. Iranian-backed ''[[Hezbollah]]'' has fought against DAESH, too.<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/International/lebanons-army-asks-aid-isis/story?id=25087105 Lebanon's Army Asks for Aid Against ISIS - ABC News]</ref> -->
Immediately after the capture of Mosul, the insurgent coalition turned on itself. Fighting broke out between the Naqshbandiyah Order (JRTN), a band of [[Sufi]]s, and Daesh.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/10916360/Iraq-crisis-Isis-seize-Syria-border-crossing-as-Obama-blames-Iraqi-government-for-sectarian-divisions-latest.html Iraq crisis: Isis allies 'turn on jihadists' as 17 killed in clashes near Kirkuk] (21 June 2014) ''The Telegraph''.</ref>

===U.S. intervention===
The [[Obama]] administration has since begun a campaign of targeted air strikes on DAESH forces in areas occupied by DAESH, first in Iraq (starting at Mount Sinjar to help save the [[Yazidi]]s from genocide) before heading over to Syria to conduct strikes a few weeks later. A sizable chunk of their income is from the [[oil]] being sold on the black market. Recent US airstrikes on DAESH facilities has managed to significantly decrease their output.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/14/world/middleeast/struggling-to-starve-isis-of-oil-revenue-us-seeks-assistance-from-turkey.html Struggling to Starve ISIS of Oil Revenue, U.S. Seeks Assistance From Turkey - NYTimes.com]</ref><ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/target-isis-us-airstrikes-pound-isis-oil-facilities-26311774 Target ISIS: US Airstrikes Pound ISIS Oil Facilities Video - ABC News]</ref> However, it could be argued that the current war operation against DAESH is illegal, because it was done without [[Congress]]ional authorization, let alone approval from the [[United Nations]]. The pretext used to legally justify the operation has been that because DAESH ''originated'' as an affiliate of al-Qaeda, the original 2001 "Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists" was still applicable... even though DAESH was now actively fighting against al-Qaeda for control of the region. While this pretext is legally dubious at best, no one in a position to legally challenge it ever opted to do so, largely because most members of Congress preferred not to vote on a new authorization specific to DAESH (so that if the war had gone badly, they wouldn't have to defend the vote in their reelection bids). Nevertheless, America has received assistance from [[Australia]], [[Canada]], and [[Britain]] (all three of which have authorized it through their parliaments), with the Gulf monarchies (which don't need no steenkin' parliaments) and other Mideast states offering help. [[Jordan]], meanwhile, has reportedly closed its borders to Syrian refugees<ref>[http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2014/10/08/Jordan-border-closed-to-Syrian-refugees-aid-groups-say/6591412799854/ Jordan border closed to Syrian refugees, aid groups say], UPI</ref> due in part to the risk of DAESH infiltrators, although the simple economic strain of being a small country that has taken on 618,000 refugees in 3 years was also probably a factor.<ref group=note>Jordan has taken almost 2 million Palestinian refugees in the recent past, along with other groups.</ref>

====Battle of Amerli====

Amerli, a Shi'a Turkmen town of 15,000 about 100 miles northeast of Baghdad, fell to DAESH early during their advance. Iranian General Qassem Suleimani was dispatched to organize an assault to retake the town. The siege lasted two months and Amerli was retaken about September 5, 2014. 

The {{wpl|Badr Organization||,}} founded and staffed by the {{wpl|Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corp}} (IRCG) was in the forefront, assisted by the {{wpl|Jaysh al-Mahdi||,}} renamed Saraya al-Salam, a Shi'a militia which fought against U.S. forces during the 2004-2011 insurgency, and Kurdish Peshmerga. The ground forces received air support and humanitarian assistance from the United States.

=== Kurds and Turks ===

[[File:Peshmerga on a T-55-Tank outside Kirkuk in Iraq..jpg|thumb|275px|Kurdish tank in northern Iraq.]]

====Battle of Kobanî====

There is evidence that airstrikes, when used in coordination with Kurdish and PKK ground forces, have been tactically helpful in driving DAESH militants back from many areas such as the Mosul Dam, Zumar, Rabia (in the Nineveh plains in Iraq), Sinjar, and Kobanî (a Kurdish city in Syria),<ref>[http://en.contrainfo.espiv.net/2014/10/12/iraq-syria-kurdistan/ “Iraq–Syria–Kurdistan”], A first-person report received on October 12th, 2014. http://en.contrainfo.espiv.net/</ref> which sits on the border. Syrian Kurdish paramilitary spokesman Polat Can called the airstrikes "numerous and effective," but added that reluctance of the Turks stalled the operation.<ref>[http://civiroglu.net/2014/10/14/ypg_usa/ YPG Spokesman Can: We are Working with the Coalition against ISIS | Personal Website of Mutlu Civiroglu]</ref> Turks demanded a clear commitment in assisting the overthrow of the Assad government to help drive Iranian influence out of the Mediterranean coastal region.<ref>[http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ankara-urges-pyd-leader-to-join-ranks-of-free-syrian-army-against-al-assad.aspx?pageID=238&nID=72545&NewsCatID=510 </ref> The Siege of Kobanî &mdash; the center of a wheat-growing area necessary to the economy of DAESH to feed the population under occupation &mdash; lasted for 134 days and leveled 60% of the town.<ref>[http://soufangroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/TSG-The-Islamic-State-Nov14.pdf The Islamic State], Richard Barrett, The Soufan Group, November 2014.</ref> Because so many Kurdish males had been exterminated by DAESH, female Kurdish fighters are credited with the ground victory.<ref>[http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/kobani-how-sacrifice-local-knowledge-heroism-kurdish-female-fighters-beat-isis-1487358 Kobani: How strategy, sacrifice and heroism of Kurdish female fighters beat Isis:]</ref>
<!--[We've only had a few months into the conflict, wait before we make any conclusions on the effectiveness of this] As you can imagine, the airstrikes haven't exactly worked, as the Islamic State has simply switched from slaughtering Iraqi Kurds to slaughtering Syrian Kurds, they continue to steal enormous amounts of weapons and artillery (including tanks), and they have surrounded the ancient city of Baghdad as well as helped to destroy ancient historical monuments, treasures, records, and castles in Aleppo. Civilian casualties from airstrikes are now significantly less important to the U.S. government, in part due to the different kind of threat posed by IS as opposed by most other terrorist organizations.<ref>[http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/civilian-casualty-standard-eased-iraq-syria/ Obama administration eases policy on preventing civilian casualties in Iraq, Syria], PBS.</ref> Airstrikes might serve to disenfranchise Sunnis, who could also face ethnic cleansing of their own by Shi'as and Kurds.--->

=== Reawakening the Awakening ===
The U.S. has had difficulty activating Sunni resistance as ground forces after abandoning the Iraqi {{wpl|Sons of Iraq|Awakening Councils}} organized during the "troop surge" of 2007-2009. These Sunni tribes were asked to help support the Shi'a Baghdad government against the [[insurgency|insurgent]] Islamic State in Iraq. Many Sunni tribesmen who cooperated with the U.S. and the Shi'a dominated government have since either defected to DAESH or been executed ''en  masse'', their property plundered, and their wives and children enslaved.
US-backed Sunni Arab rebels in Syria have an abysmal record against DAESH because basically none of them are willing to fight it.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160930100350/http://www.conflict-news.com/articles/us-backed-new-syrian-army-suffers-crippling-defeat US Backed New Syrian Army Suffers Crippling Defeat] by Michael Cruickshank (June 29, 2016) ''Conflict News'' (archived from Septmeber 30, 2016).</ref>

=== Gulf Cooperation Council ===
The US has assisted in helping to create a task force of Gulf states to battle DAESH.<ref>[http://www.businessinsider.com/the-us-led-war-on-isis-now-has-a-logo-2014-12 The US-Led War On ISIS Now Has A Logo - Business Insider]</ref> The organization has long-term objectives to secure regional stability based upon the [[NATO]] model. Two non-Gulf states, Morocco and Jordan, are also included with overtures being made to others to join. [[Turkey|Some]] of these countries have allowed use of US airbases for strikes, and [[Jordan|some]] have even flown sorties themselves. However, none of these countries has deployed even a single soldier to fight DAESH on the ground, largely because they don't mind DAESH fighting the Shi'a Syrian and Iraqi governments.

=== Iranian intervention ===
[[Iran]] likewise has sent airstrikes in [[Iraq]] against DAESH but denies coordinating with the U.S. In Syria, the Assad government for a time was following on the heels of U.S. and coalition airstrikes to garner the impression on the ground that the U.S. was aiding the Assad government. Since al-Nusra acquired American TOW missiles this hasn't been a problem.<ref>[http://www.globalresearch.ca/military-aid-to-terrorists-us-supplied-al-qaeda-rebels-in-syria-with-tow-anti-tank-missiles/5421688 Military Aid to Terrorists: US Supplied Al Qaeda Rebels in Syria with TOW Anti-Tank Missiles], By Maram Susli, Global Research, December 27, 2014.</ref>

====Battle of Tikrit====

In the Summer 2014 blitz, the Iraqi Air Force academy established by the U.S. at Tikrit, Camp Speicher, was a prime target. Over 1,700 unarmed cadets, mostly between the ages of 18 and 22, were savagely and brutally executed ''en masse'' in one of DAESH's first large-scale, publicly distributed videos of mass murder.

The Spring offensive to retake DAESH-occupied territory began only days after Israeli Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] warned in a speech to the U.S. Congress the danger of impending Iranian influence in the region. At the same time, Gen. [[Qasem Soleimani]] was appointed by the [[Ayatollah Khamenei]] as the battlefield commander of forces to retake the city of Tikrit from DAESH.<ref>[http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense-news/blog/intercepts/2015/03/02/iraq-iran-is-war-terrorism/24270363/ Iranian General Again in Iraq for Tikrit Offensive]</ref><ref>[http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2015/03/strategy-tikrit-mosul-150312085053736.html What strategy for Tikrit, Mosul and beyond? - Al Jazeera English]</ref> Solemeini is on a sanctions list by the [[United Nations]] for {{wpl|United Nations Security Council Resolution 1737|violations of international conventions on limiting nuclear proliferation|.}}<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150414033356/http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1737/desindv.shtml Sanctions Committee - 1737 (Wayback Machine copy)]</ref>

The force under Soleimani's command consisted of only about 4,000 Iraqi Security Forces and nearly 20,000 Shi'a militiamen, some considered terrorists by the U.S. State Department. When Iraq's senior cleric, Ayatollah {{wpl|Ali al-Sistani||,}} issued a ''[[fatwa]]'' in June 2014 to defend the country,<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/14/world/middleeast/iraq.html?_r=1 Iraqi Shi'ite Cleric Issues Call to Arms - NYTimes.com]</ref> most volunteers joined private militias ({{wpl|Popular Mobilization Forces (Iraq)}}) and not the U.S. backed Iraqi National Army, which suffered major defeats early on.<ref>[http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.co.il/2014/07/analysis-of-ayatollah-sistanis-fatwa-to.html Analysis Of Ayatollah Sistani’s Fatwa To Defend Iraq Interview With Tel Aviv Univ’s Rachel Kantz Feder]</ref> Ayatollah Sistani, in fact, commands his own militia, Al-Marjaeyya Soldiers Militia. Many other Shi'a militias, organized and funded by Iran during the Iraqi insurgency of 2003-2011, were motivated by anti-American propaganda emanating from Iran which purported DAESH to be a U.S. proxy. Some Sunni militias from the US-backed Iraqi Awakening Councils also participated. 

After two weeks of fighting, heavily laden with IEDs, booby traps, and effective targeted suicide attacks, the Iranian-led attack force backed off. Shi'a forces suffered over 1000 casualties or 5% of the attacking force. The prime minister of Iraq requested US air support to help allied forces retake the city. The American Air Force heeded the call, and along with the Iraqi Air Force, began a series of precision air strikes.<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/International/tikrit-offensive-iranian-general-steps-us-steps/story?id=29930338 Tikrit Offensive: Iranian General Steps Out, U.S. Steps In - ABC News]</ref><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/us-providing-surveillance-to-iraqi-forces-fighting-islamic-state-in-tikrit/2015/03/25/1851a070-d236-11e4-8b1e-274d670aa9c9_story.html U.S. forces begin airstrikes in Tikrit, where Iran-backed militias are in lead] by Loveday Morris et al. (March 25, 2015) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> Both the U.S. and Iran, while mired in controversial diplomatic negotiations over the future of Iran's nuclear programs, publicly denied coordination of military activity in Tikrit. After US airstrikes destroyed several key strategic bridges and command centers (including one of Saddam Hussein's old palaces), DAESH was squeezed inside the city and ultimately defeated in the course of a few days, with nearly all of the DAESH force of a few hundred killed or captured.

===The Tide Turns===

[[File:Destroyed neighborhood in Raqqa.png|thumb|300px|Raqqa after having the hell liberated out of it.]]

====Russian intervention====
Russian intervention began after terrorists allied to DAESH blew up one of their passenger airplanes; they officially joined in the fight, and began striking infrastructure that DAESH could use to support its occupation.<ref>[http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/ISIS-Threat/Russia-releases-video-of-air-strikes-on-ISIS-oil-tankers-facilities-438548 Russia releases video of air strikes on ISIS oil tankers, facilities] (December 27, 2015) ''Reuters'' via ''The Jerusalem Post''.</ref><ref>[http://time.com/4188108/russia-syria-airstrikes-isis-assad/ Russian Air Strikes in Syria Are Gradually Weakening ISIS and Rebels, Report Says] by Rishi Iyengar (Jan. 20, 2016) ''Time''.</ref> There were over 6,000 Russian airstrikes against rebel and DAESH forces, which averaged 60 sorties per day.

On February 26, 2016, a [[UN]]-brokered ceasefire in the Syrian Civil War took effect. The ceasefire was between the Syrian government and all rebel groups except for Daesh and al-Nusra. The ceasefire allowed the Syrian Army to shift thousands of troops to fight ISIS. The Army captured many areas from DAESH in the desert, and it conducted dozens of airstrikes against DAESH positions. The Army launched an offensive against the DAESH-held city of Palmyra, and succeeded in capturing the city and its surroundings.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160320023240/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/breaking-syrian-army-hezbollah-liberate-important-mountaintop-west-palmyra/ Syrian Army, Hezbollah liberate important mountaintop in west Palmyra] by Leith Fadel (19/03/2016) ''Al-Masdar News'' (archived from March 20, 2016).</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160320145150/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/russian-syrian-air-raids-raqqa-kill-39-wound-dozens-in-isis-capital/ Russian, Syrian air raids on Raqqa kill 39 and wound dozens in ISIS capital] by Chris Tomson (20/0/2016) ''Al-Masdar News'' (archived from March 20, 2016).</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160327063044/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/breaking-syrian-armed-forces-liberate-palmyra-2/ Syrian Armed Forces liberate Palmyra] by Leith Fadel (27/03/2016)  ''Al-Masdar News'' (archived from March 27, 2016).</ref>

====Suicide bombing competition====
In 2014, a British DAESH fighter revealed to the [[BBC]] that there was a waiting list within DAESH to become [[suicide bomber]]s.<ref>[http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-29974766 Briton Kabir Ahmed 'among Iraq suicide bombing dead'] (10 November 2014) ''BBC News''</ref> In 2015, [[Chechnya|Chechen]] DAESH fighters were reportedly complaining that the suicide list in Syria was dominated by [[Nepotism|nepotistic]] Saudis, forcing other nationalities to go to Iraq where the list was shorter.<ref>[http://www.rferl.org/content/islamic-state-suicide-bombers-waiting-lists/27028459.html Daghestani Militant Blows Up Over IS Suicide-Bomber Nepotism] (May 21, 2015) ''Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty''.</ref>

====Battle of Ramadi====
In mid-2014, DAESH had captured the administrative hub of Ramadi through a long and arduous assault. Videotape emerged of Iraqi soldiers fleeing the battlefield ''en masse'' during the final assault. After the city fell, the United States coordinated with the Iraqi Security Forces to recapture the city. A months-long operation to surround the city succeeded in late 2014. By January 2015, the city had been recaptured after an intense battle between a DAESH force of 2,000 and an Iraqi force of 13,000. Much of the city was destroyed either in fighting or in US airstrikes. This battle showed DAESH was incapable of defending a large Sunni Arab city against an enemy force with air support, and the battle served as a 'test-run' for future battles in Fallujah and Mosul.
====Battle of Fallujah====
In early 2016, a wave of deadly car bombings killed hundreds of civilians in Baghdad. Everyone suspected that DAESH used Fallujah as a car bomb factory to send bombs to Baghdad whenever needed, as Fallujah was DAESH's closest base to Baghdad. Iraq announced the operation to liberate Fallujah in May.<ref>[http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/05/iraq-pm-declares-offensive-retake-fallujah-isil-160522220106703.html Iraq PM declares offensive to retake Fallujah from ISIL] (23 May 2016) ''Al Jazeera''.</ref> Many Western and Sunni media outlets expressed fear that Shi'a militias, despite not being allowed to enter the city, might loot and destroy Sunni homes. These allegations proved largely untrue. ISF divisions, backed up by Shi'a popular militias, cleared most of the rural areas in the north, east, and south of the city.<ref>[http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/30/iraqi-forces-enter-fallujah-in-attempt-to-drive-out-islamic-state Iraqi troops seize control of districts of Falluja from Isis] by Kareem Shaheen (30 May 2016 15.26 EDT) ''The Guardian''.</ref> ISF entered the city on May 31, but were halted due to a massive DAESH counterattack.<ref>[http://www.wsj.com/articles/iraqi-forces-halt-advance-into-fallujah-1464882788 Iraqi Forces Halt Advance Into Fallujah] by Ghassan Adnan & Nour Malas (Updated June 2, 2016 2:11 pm ET) ''The Wall Street Journal''.</ref> Allied forces later succeeded in taking the city, and built a trench to keep DAESH out for good.
[[File:IMG 20170320 085109.jpg|right|165px|thumb|'''Twilight of the Monotheists.''' The Battle of Mosul. In the distance is the al-Nuri Mosque.]]

====Endgame====
Without Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, it was only a matter of time before the Kurds took Raqqa, which they did on October 17th, 2017, driving Daesh away from their capital city. Additional advances by the Kurds and the Syrian government drove Daesh out of most of Syria, reducing them to a rump state on the edges of Syria's eastern border.

On March 23, 2019, the Kurd forces announced the end of their caliphate after having taken the little territories Daesh held. Then, Caliph  [[Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi]] hid in a location in Idlib near Turkish boundary. U.S. Army Special Forces on October 26-27, 2019, located and cornered al-Baghdadi, who detonated a suicide vest in the firefight, killing himself and two children. Daesh acknowledged his death and appointed another caliph, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qureshi.

== War crimes and atrocities ==
*In an effort to provoke a wider confrontation with Saudi Arabia and its allies, the Islamic State has violated the {{wpl|territorial integrity}} of Saudi Arabia, claiming responsibility for several bombings of Shi'a mosques killing scores of worshipers.<ref>[http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/05/saudi-arabia-eastern-province-attacks-on-shiites.html Shiites reel from attack in Saudi province] by Madawi Al-Rasheed (May 26, 2015) ''Al-Monitor''.</ref>
*[[Amnesty International]] reports DAESH killed 15 individuals, including 7 children, in the village of al-Tleiliye, Northern Syria. [http://www.amnesty.ca/news/news-releases/children-among-15-civilians-summarily-killed-in-northern-syria]
*The Islamic State Gov't executed some 600 male inmates from a prison outside the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on June 10, 2014.
*The Islamic State Gov't (DAESH) took credit for the wholesale massacre of 1700 cadets at Camp Speicher near Tikrit on June 11, 2014. The cadets were disarmed, and then executed en masse, after being taken prisoner.
*On August 28, 2014, DAESH videotaped the mass execution of 220 unarmed, stripped naked soldiers captured at the Tabqa air base in Syria.<ref>[http://syrianfight.com/2014/08/30/massacre-saa/ The mass execution of 220 Syrian soldiers near Tabqa airbase], 30, AUGUST 2014 / SYRIANFIGHT.</ref>
*13 teenage boys were executed in Mosul for watching a soccer match between the apostate Jordanians and the ''rafida''<ref name="rafida">"{{wpl|rafida|rafida|"}} is a Salafi/Wahabi anti-Shi'a slur.</ref> Iraqis who lost the match on television.<ref>[http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/20/islamic-state-terrorists-kill-13-teen-boys-for-wat/ Islamic State terrorists kill 13 teen boys for watching soccer - Washington Times]</ref>
*On September 22, 2014 survivors reported DAESH used chlorine gas against a regiment of the Iraqi National Army at Saqlawiya, near Fallujah.
*The beheadings of journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and aid workers David Haines, Alan Henning, and Abdul-Rahman (formerly Peter Kassig) after his conversion to Islam.<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/1.668127 'Jihadi John' reportedly on the run from ISIS: The British-raised Islamic State executioner may have felt he has become a burden on DAESH rather than an asset, Britain's Daily Express reports] Jul. 27, 2015 | 6:13 PM ''Haaretz''.</ref>
*On 3 January 2015, a captured [[Jordan]]ian pilot, Moaz al-Kasasbeh, was burned alive by DAESH militia.
*The Yazidi enslavement, human trafficking, and [[genocide]]. According to human rights activist Nazand Begikhani, 2500 Yazidi women have been kidnapped; others estimates put the number upward of 4600 Yazidi women unaccounted for, and their male relatives executed.<ref>[http://awdnews.com/top-news/10359-shocking-isis-published-q-a-on-how-to-treat-female-slaves.html DAESH-published Q&A on how to treat female slaves], AWDNews, 09 December 2014.</ref> The United Nations estimates around 5000 Yazidis have been murdered. 
*The all-female {{wpl|Al-Khansaa Brigade}} [[Acid attack|poured acid on the faces]] of 15 women in Mosul for not wearing regime-mandated gunny sacks over their heads.<ref>[http://www.basnews.com/en/news/2015/02/09/islamic-state-disfigure-15-women-with-acid/ Islamic State Disfigure 15 Women With Acid - BasNews]</ref>
*[[Ethnic cleansing]] of other minority groups, the Sabean Mandeans, Jews, Turkmen Shi'a, Shabak Shi'a, Alawite Shi'a, Coptic Christians, and Assyrian Christians, along with their children.<ref>[http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/07/19/iraq-isis-abducting-killing-expelling-minorities Iraq: ISIS Abducting, Killing, Expelling Minorities] (July 19, 2014 12:00AM EDT) ''Human Rights Watch''.</ref><ref>[http://www.catholic.org/news/international/middle_east/story.php?id=56339 WARNING GRAPHIC, RAW PHOTOS -- ISIS on Christians: 'There is nothing to give them but the sword' - Middle East - International - News - Catholic Online]</ref> U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Diane Feinstein maintains the photographic evidence of beheading 6-year-old children is authentic.<ref>[http://thehill.com/policy/defense/218441-feinstein-isis-is-beheading-children Feinstein: ISIS is beheading children | TheHill]</ref>
*A U.N. report put the death toll at the hands of DAESH in the first 8 months of 2014 at more than 9400, the majority of which were Muslims.<ref>[http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/IQ/UNAMI_OHCHR_POC_Report_FINAL_6July_10September2014.pdf Report on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in Iraq: 6 July – 10 September 2014 - UNITED NATIONS Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Human Rights Office]</ref>
*DAESH crimes are not limited to non-Sunnis: "insolent" Sunni tribesmen and clerics who refuse to swear allegiance to the Caliphate have been murdered in vast numbers.<ref>[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29871068 Islamic State 'kills 322' from single Sunni tribe] (2 November 2014) ''BBC News''.</ref>
*With the fall of Palmyra in Syria in May 2015, DAESH executed at least 262 unarmed persons, including children, many in a public spectacle in the ancient Palmyra Coliseum built in [[Roman Empire|Roman times]].

===Lone wolf attacks===
DAESH's decentralized command structure allows for "operational independence" among sleeper cells and encourages so-called "[[lone wolf]]" attacks from sympathizers in target countries who have not had any direct training or are under direct control. The [[Salafi]] Islamic scholar Abū Muhammad al-‘Adnānī<ref>[https://pietervanostaeyen.wordpress.com/2014/06/12/shaykh/ Shaykh Abū Muhammad al-‘Adnānī ~ Whatever of Good Reaches You is from Allah « pietervanostaeyen]</ref> issued a [[fatwa]] in late 2014 stating, 
{{quotebox|Strike their police, security, and intelligence members. If you can kill a disbelieving American or European — especially the spiteful and filthy French — or an Australian, or a Canadian, or any other disbeliever from the disbelievers waging war against the Islamic State, then rely upon Allah, and kill him in any manner or way however it may be.}}
Some American and Western counterintelligence agencies have had difficulty coming to terms with these "lone wolf attacks", reluctant to hold DAESH responsible without evidence of operational planning, despite a lone wolf perpetrator leaving a videotaped message swearing allegiance to the Caliph and the Islamic State. The Islamic State's own propaganda rag boasts<ref>[https://ia801407.us.archive.org/6/items/dbq05en/Dabiq_Issue_5.pdf Dabiq #5], pp 37-38.</ref>
{{quotebox|A general in a conventional army couldn’t possibly hope to have such power over men he’d never met on the other side of the world… to actually step up and [kill] at the behest of a man they had never met, never seen, fighting in a country several thousand miles away… with nothing more than words and a shared belief in the act of worship that is jihad.}}
*In Queens, New York, Zale Thompson attacked four policemen with a hatchet.
*In Australia, Numan Haider stabbed two counter-terrorism police officers. 
*Two Canadian soldiers were run over in Quebec by Martin Couture-Rouleau.
*In the Canadian capital of Ottawa, a soldier was shot and killed in front of the War Memorial by 32-year-old Michael Zehaf-Bibeau on 22 October 2014, who then entered Canada’s Parliament building looking for other targets before being shot and killed by police. 
*[[Belgium]]. A French citizen named Mehdi Nemmouche killed four people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels.<ref>[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27654505 Brussels Jewish Museum killings: Suspect 'admitted attack' - BBC News]</ref>
*Amedy Coulibaly killed a French policewoman and four customers at a [[kosher]] supermarket in Paris.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsI2nbBAHLg Video shows Paris gunman pledging allegiance to ISIS - CNN]</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK6zTeGoC-I&bpctr=1433052904 Paris attacks: Video links supermarket gunman Amedy Coulibaly to Islamic State - BBC]</ref>

===A few or more wolves===
*An Algerian group beheaded French mountain guide Hervé Gourdel.<ref>[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29352537 French hostage Herve Gourdel beheaded in Algeria] (24 September 2014) ''BBC''.</ref>
*Two Islamic State Army were killed and a security guard shot in the ankle in an attempted disruption of a "[[Everybody Draw Mohammed Day|Draw Mohammad]]" event in [[Texas]]. DAESH officially claimed responsibility.<ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/05/05/isil-texas-attack/26910117/ Islamic State claims responsibility for Texas attack - USA Today]</ref>
*DAESH has also claimed responsibility for the bombing of a Russian airliner, and a coordinated attack in Paris which killed over 100 people.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/14/world/paris-attacks/|title=ISIS claims responsibility of Paris attacks|publisher=CNN|accessdate=14 November 2015}}</ref>
*They are also responsible for the 2015 bombings in Beirut, Lebanon<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/12/middleeast/beirut-explosions/ Beirut suicide bombings kill 43; suspect claims ISIS sent attackers] by Greg Botelho et al. (November 16, 2015) ''CNN''.</ref> and Baghdad, Iraq.<ref>[http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/11/13/Suicide-bomb-in-Baghdad-kills-at-least-18.html Suicide bomber kills at least 19 in Baghdad funeral] ( Published: 13 November, 2015: 12:00 AM GST; Updated: 20 May, 2020: 10:47 AM GST) ''Alarabiya News''.</ref>
*DAESH has claimed responsibility for the bombing of a bus in the Tunisian capital of Tunis, carried out on the 24<sup>th</sup> of November, 2015. The bus was carrying members of Tunisia's presidential guard. 15 people were killed.

===Attacks in Paris===
On the evening of November 13, 2015, gunmen and suicide bombers attacked restaurants, bars, the Bataclan concert hall, and the Stade de France within a span of around 20 minutes, killing 130 people.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34818994|title=Paris attacks: What we know|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=16 November 2015}}</ref> The day after the attack, DAESH claimed responsibility for the attacks, stating that they would be "the first of the storm".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/15/world/europe/isis-claims-responsibility-for-paris-attacks-calling-them-miracles.html?_r=0|title=ISIS Claims Responsibility, Calling Paris Attacks ‘First of the Storm’|publisher=New York Times|accessdate=16 November 2015}}</ref>

===Attacks in Brussels===
On the morning of March 22, 2016, at least three bastards and at least one collaborator attacked Brussels' airport as well as Maalbeek metro station killing 32 people and injuring more or less another 250.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Brussels_bombings 2016 Brussels bombings]</ref>

== Positive civil government achievements ==
[[File:Tumbleweed.gif|center]]
===Unintended positive achievements===
*Encouraging the world public to seek to preserve ancient monuments.
*Caused Saudi Arabia to open the oil production spigots, driving world prices down to $30 a barrel, resulting in (1) lowering DAESH black market oil revenues to about $10 a barrel, (2) increased consumer spending in the U.S. about $1000 per household, which (3) led to a retail hiring boom in the U.S, lowering unemployment to 4.9%.<ref>[http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/01/06/oil-price-qa-what-the-plunge-means-for-gas-prices-the-economy-and-markets/ Oil Price Q&A: What the Plunge Means for Gas Prices, the Economy and Markets] (Jan. 6, 2015 11:22 am ET) ''The Wall Street Journal''.</ref>

== Conspiracy theories ==
To no one's surprise, [[conspiracy theories|conspiracy theorists]] have argued that DAESH is a U.S./Israeli creation, intended to further destabilize the region and to possibly be used in an attempt to overthrow Assad, rather than [[Hanlon's razor|seeing ISIS's emergence as a by-product]] of [[Blowback|disastrous but overt U.S. intervention]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1zGJApfbDc "ISIS: Creation of the CIA," Alex Jones Channel]</ref> As a conspiracy theory this is all [[bullshit]], ascribing secret plotting to policies that were supported and sold by both the U.S. political class and the U.S. media.<ref>[http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/12/leadup-iraq-war-timeline Lie by Lie: A Timeline of How We Got Into Iraq] by Jonathan Stein & Tim Dickinson (September/October 2006) ''Mother Jones''.</ref><ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/23/business/media/a-novel-lays-bare-media-ills.html A Novel Lays Bare Media Ills: Michael Hastings’s ‘Last Magazine’ Shows War as Career Opportunity] by David Carr (June 22, 2014) ''The New York Times''.</ref>

There is a degree of overlap in American and DAESH goals: they both hate Iran and they both want Assad out of Syria, which is why Washington wasn't really that eager to do much when the [[CIA]]-armed [[Syria]]n opposition began flocking to the Islamic State. It was only after DAESH attacked oil-rich [[Iraq]] that Washington got involved. It is also true that DAESH originated from [[al Qaeda]] in Iraq, a byproduct of the 2003 invasion. Al Qaeda in Iraq reemerged as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, one of the strongest Islamist groups fighting against the [[Bashar Assad|Assad]] government in Syria, with help from the [[CIA]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Turkey]], and [[Qatar]], but to say they were planted there as a [[false flag operation]] is downright silly.

Others, notably Iranian exile groups, claim DAESH was "created in Iraq by [former Iraqi Premier Maliki] and the Iranian regime"<ref>[http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/ashraf-liberty/15694-iraq-qasem-soleimani-asks-maliki-to-attack-camp-liberty-disguised-as-daesh Iraq: Qasem Soleimani asks Maliki to attack Camp Liberty disguised as DAESH militants - National Council of Resistance of Iran]</ref> as a means to expand Iranian power and influence over Iraq and gain sympathy from residence of Sunni refugee camps in and around Baghdad. 

Iran itself, to expedite recruiting for its proxy militias in Iraq and elsewhere, has spread the myth that the United States has been supplying DAESH. The story began when 1 large weapons box (~1 ton) in an airdrop intended for Kurdish fighters fighting DAESH accidentally fell into DAESH's hands.<ref>[http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13931015000873 Basij Commander: US Embassy in Baghdad Running ISIL Operations - Farsnews] </ref> [[Alex Jones]], [[RT]], and the lot seized on this opportunity to claim that this is proof the US supports ISIS, even though they neglect the fact that 26 other weapons packages were delivered to the enemies of DAESH on the same day. Iran's anti-American propaganda has been effective: the United States is seen by many Shi'as as a more dangerous bogeyman and fighting DAESH is the best way to counter the spread of American influence. When the Iraqi Army does manage to scrounge up a victory, they don't credit the US, with some even accusing the US of bombing in ''support'' of DAESH, when in fact it was the ''Iraqi'' air force that [[Hanlon's Razor|mistakenly bombed their own soldiers]].<ref>[http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/04/03/world/middleeast/isis-forces-pushed-out-of-tikrit.html Iraq Forces, Pushing ISIS Out of Tikrit, Give Few Thanks for U.S. Airstrikes] by Rod Nordland (April 2, 2015) ''The New York Times''.</ref>
=== Alliance between DAESH and Israel during the Gaza War ===
To top off his list of war-crimes, Israeli Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] backed DAESH-linked gangsters in the Gaza Strip,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hasson|first=Nir |date=26 May 2025 |title='Anti-terror Service': New Palestinian Militia Operating in South Gaza, Local Sources Say |url=https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/2025-05-26/ty-article/.premium/new-palestinian-militia-operating-in-southern-gaza-local-sources-say/00000197-0cd9-d165-a9ff-1dff7dc00000 |access-date=4 June 2025 |website=Haaretz}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Tondo |first=Lorenzo |date=5 June 2025 |title=Israel accused of arming Palestinian gang who allegedly looted aid in Gaza |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/05/israel-accused-of-arming-palestinian-gang-who-allegedly-looted-aid-in-gaza |access-date=6 June 2025 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref name="ynetnews20250605">{{Cite news |last=Eichner |first=Itamar |last2=Halabi |first2=Einav |date=5 June 2025 |title=Liberman accuses Netanyahu of arming ISIS-linked militias in Gaza; PM’s office offers no denial |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/article/byicfeyxge |access-date=6 June 2025 |work=Ynetnews |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=5 June 2025|title=Netanyahu Says Israel Fighting Hamas 'In Various Ways' Amid Claims It Armed ISIS-affiliated Gaza Militia |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-06-05/ty-article/israel-arming-isis-affiliated-anti-hamas-gaza-militia-ex-defense-chief-claims/00000197-3f88-d079-ab97-7fcdd7120000 |website=Haaretz}}</ref> led by Yasser Abu Shabab, a Jihadi street thug who was nicknamed the "Pablo Escobar of Gaza" because of his involvement in smuggling and his powerful role in local armed politics, his most infamous attack being the {{wpl|Kerem Shalom aid convoy looting|Kerem Shalom aid convoy looting}}.<ref>Euronews. "Exclusive: New Militia Emerges in Gaza to Challenge Hamas Control." *Euronews*, 10 July 2025, https://www.euronews.com/2025/07/10/exclusive-new-militia-emerges-in-gaza-to-challenge-hamas-control.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Fakti.bg |title=Pablo Escobar in Gaza: New Palestinian group working with the Israeli army challenges Hamas control |url=https://fakti.bg/en/world/985032-pablo-escobar-in-gaza-new-palestinian-group-working-with-the-israeli-army-challenges-hamas-control |access-date=2025-07-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |title=Gaza’s Pablo Escobar: Yasser Abu Shabab’s Ascent to the Abyss
 |url=https://www.palestinechronicle.com/gazas-pablo-escobar-yasser-abu-shababs-ascent-to-the-abyss/
 |website=The Palestine Chronicle
 |date=October 9, 2025
 |access-date=October 10, 2025
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Palestinians in Gaza are relieved that Yasser Abu Shabab is dead |url=https://www.newarab.com/news/palestinians-gaza-are-relieved-yasser-abu-shabab-dead |website=The New Arab |date=28 November 2023 |access-date=5 December 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web
 |title=ياسر أبو شباب.. الصعود نحو الهاوية
 |url=https://www.aljazeera.net/politics/2025/10/10/%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%B1-%D8%A3%D8%A8%D9%88-%D8%B4%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF-%D9%86%D8%AD%D9%88-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%A9
 |website=الجزيرة نت
 |publisher=Al Jazeera
 |date=2025-10-10
 |access-date={{CURRENTDAY}} {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}
}}</ref> Israeli Minister Avigdor Lieberman criticized Netanyahu's support of DAESH-factions in Gaza, ofcourse Bibi in good ol' fashion Bibi style defended it stating it saves "Israeli lives", [[Hamas|yep because backing Islamists to divide and conquer his enemies totally went greatly last time he tried it]].<ref>[https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.timesofisrael.com/for-years-netanyahu-propped-up-hamas-now-its-blown-up-in-our-faces/amp/]</ref> Unfortunately for Bibi, his plan failed spectacularely, {{wpl|2025 Hamas executions|Hamas launched a purge of Israeli-wartime collaborators and criminals}} followed by the capture and torture killing of Abu Shabab at the hands of a Palestinian mob, he was transported to an Israeli hospital in Beersheba, where he died of his wounds. Palestinians in Gaza and in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon celebrated Yasser Abu Shabab's death, with some handing out sweets and performing celebratory gunfire.<ref>{{cite news |title=Traitor, collaborator, gangster: Palestinians in Gaza are relieved Yasser Abu Shabab is dead |url=https://www.newarab.com/news/palestinians-gaza-are-relieved-yasser-abu-shabab-dead |access-date=8 December 2025 |work=The New Arab |date=5 December 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Kleiman |first1=Shachar |title=The fall of Abu Shabab |url=https://www.jns.org/the-fall-of-abu-shabab/ |access-date=8 December 2025 |work=JNS.org |date=6 December 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=ما الذي نعرفه عن مقتل أبو شباب؟ |url=https://www.aljazeera.net/news/2025/12/4/%D9%85%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B0%D9%8A-%D9%86%D8%B9%D8%B1%D9%81%D9%87-%D8%B9%D9%86-%D9%85%D9%82%D8%AA%D9%84-%D8%A3%D8%A8%D9%88-%D8%B4%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%A8 |access-date=8 December 2025 |work=Al Jazeera |date=4 Dec 2025 |language=ar |trans-title=What do we know about the killing of Abu Shabab?}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Islamism]]
*[[Salafism]]
*[[Wahhabism]]
*[[Al-Qaeda]]
*[[Boko Haram]]
*[[Iraq War]]
*[[Syrian Civil War]]
*[[Arab Spring]]
*[[Khmer Rouge]]: The historical lesson that America manifestly learned fuck all from.

==External links==
*[http://azelin.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/abu-bakr-naji-the-management-of-savagery-the-most-critical-stage-through-which-the-umma-will-pass.pdf The Administration of Savagery], Abu Bakr Naji. English translation by William McCants, the John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies at Harvard University, 2006. A strategic handbook used by DAESH jihadis.
*[https://github.com/ali-ce/datasets/blob/master/ISIL/ISIL%20Leaders.csv ISIL Leaders], Living and dead. Updated periodically.
*[https://airwars.org/ Airwars] - A site tracking coalition airstrikes against ISIS.
*[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/rise-of-isis/ The Rise of ISIS], PBS
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUjHb4C7b94 The Islamic State], ''Vice News''
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzmO6RWy1v8 The rise of ISIS, explained in 6 minutes], ''Vox''

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|90%}}

[[Category:Ableism]]
[[Category:Anti-Christian bigotry]]
[[Category:Anti-intellectualism]]
[[Category:Antisemitism]]
[[Category:Anti-Shia]]
[[Category:Anti-Western]]
[[Category:Atheophobia]]
[[Category:Crimes against humanity]]
[[Category:Cults]]
[[Category:Fascism]]
[[Category:Fundamentalism]]
[[Category:Genocide]]
[[Category:Hate groups]]
[[Category:Homophobia]]
[[Category:Imperialism]]
[[Category:Irredentism]]
[[Category:Islamic extremism]]
[[Category:Islamism]]
[[Category:Military]]
[[Category:Ongoing armed conflicts]]
[[Category:Propaganda]]
[[Category:Racism]]
[[Category:Sexism]]
[[Category:Terrorist organisations]]
[[Category:Theocracy]]
[[Category:Totalitarianism]]
[[Category:Transphobia]]
[[Category:We're on a mission from God]]
[[Category:Xenophobia]]

Categories: Ableism, Anti-Christian bigotry, Anti-intellectualism, Antisemitism, Anti-Shia, Anti-Western, Atheophobia, Crimes against humanity, Cults, Fascism, Fundamentalism, Genocide, Hate groups, Homophobia, Imperialism, Irredentism, Islamic extremism, Islamism, Military, Ongoing armed conflicts, Propaganda, Racism, Sexism, Terrorist organisations, Theocracy, Totalitarianism, Transphobia, We're on a mission from God, Xenophobia