History of the Fall of ISIS
In 2014, ISIS, or The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, declared itself a Caliphate or a chief Muslim authority. Its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi spoke of the newly declared Caliphate from the newly conquered city of Mosul, outlining their ideology of radical Islam,thrusting ISIS into the light of the Western media. So what has become of ISIS since then, and what is the next steps for the countries and people that opposed the terrorist organization? Let's go back to the organization’s foundations and how they achieved so much power through their reign of terror and Jihad.
The foundations of ISIS originally branched out from Al-Qaeda, with the goal of starting a sectarian war against the primarily Shia population of Iraq. The organization didn’t fully become an independent cell until October, 2006, with its leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri, announcing the organization’s separation from Al-Qaeda and becoming the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI).
Throughout the next few years, ISI conducted acts of terrorism throughout the West of Iraq. However, the Iraqi and American militaries had kept them contained to the harsh deserts, and thus preventing them from becoming a larger terrorist organization. Then, in 2011, the Tunisian people ousted their longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. This was the start of the Arab Spring, a series of protests that sprung up all over the Middle East, primarily against the actions of many oppressive rulers of Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, and so on. One such country that experienced widespread protests was Syria, then (and still at time of writing) under the control of Bashar al-Assad. Bashar al-Assad responded with wide crackdowns in major cities and began deploying the military to quell further decent. However, many Syrians armed themselves and began small campaigns against the Assad military.
ISI used the increased violence in the region to launch operations into the Eastern part of Syria, as much of the military was in the Western part of the country. In 2013, ISI officially transformed into the modern ISIS. Al-Baghdadi declared that they would be called the Islamic State in Iraq and the Syria, or ISIS. After the merger, the terrorist group began seizing assets such as oil from Syria and began to gain power, especially in recruitment from around the world and within its own borders. Utilizing their newfound assets, they began to launch attacks, and eventually launched a full invasion of Iraq territory, taking advantage of the recent U.S military drawdown. With thousands of U.S troops leaving the country, the Iraqi army was left to face ISIS militants alone.
The Iraqi army was poorly trained and was routed and defeated in multiple battles, including one of the groups early victories in the city of Fallujah. ISIS became increasingly well armed as thousands of pieces of military equipment fell into their hands. The Iraqi army suffered their biggest defeat in June of 2014, where a full route occurred, allowing ISIS to march into Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, practically unopposed. This was a enormous victory for ISIS, catapulting them into the spotlight. They used this victory to portray themselves as a large and powerful army, and they turned the victory into a major propaganda stunt, culminating with al-Baghdadi announcing the creation of a Caliphate. This made al-Baghdadi the self declared authority over the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims.
Over the next few months, ISIS took large amounts of territory in both Iraq and Syria. Many of these gains were oil fields, including the largest oil field in Syria. This contributed to their increasing economic power. The Pentagon estimated that in 2014, ISIS was making around $1.5 million per day by selling oil on the black market. Aside from oil revenue, ISIS became masters of extortion and taxation, especially in Mosul and Raqqa, the group’s declared capital. Along with other forms of revenue such as hostage payments, bank theft, and payments from worldwide supporters, the group was estimated to have a income of two billion US dollars.
In the early months of 2015, ISIS began to enter its highest level of power; not only gaining more territory in Syria, but allying with many terrorist organizations all around the world. Before long, they gained territory in Libya, Yemen, and the Sinai peninsula in Egypt. In March of 2015, the leader of Boko Haram, the Nigerian terrorist group that controlled northern parts of Nigeria, pledged support to ISIS.
As ISIS continued to expand, they continued to commit many horrific atrocities in the territories they controlled including the subjugation of women, confining them into households and forcefully marrying them to ISIS fighters, and well as destroying countless artifacts and historical sites that were deemed “Non-islamic”. Perhaps the most horrific act committed was the attempted extermination of the Yazidi people, a minority group in Iraq and surrounding countries. The Yazidi had many of their own customs and have their own distic religion. ISIS saw them as heretics and deemed that they should be “cleansed” because of their non adherence to their strict form of Islam. Thousands of Yazidis were killed by mass executions as ISIS overran many part of Northern Iraq where they lived, causing a mass exodus of Yazidis from their traditional homeland. To this day, many are still displaced, unable to return to their homes.
As ISIS was thrust into the media limelight after Mosul, many countries joined the war against ISIS. The US slowly began help the Iraqi army rebuild and began to send troops back into the country after ISIS killed American citizens on their propaganda reals. Additionally, the country of Jordan declared war after ISIS burned a Jordanian helicopter pilot alive. Other countries such as France, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, followed suit, supporting the U.S. in an air campaign.
The end of 2015 brought a wave of destruction from both sides. ISIS fought back relentlessly as the Iraqi army began to reform but ultimately began to lose on the ground, mostly to the Peshmerga, a Kurdish military force. The Kurds, another ethnic minority that inhabited the Northeastern part of Iraq that was granted a large amount of autonomy, which allowed them to have a protective force, the Peshmerga. The Peshmerga kept ISIS at bay, preventing them from conquering all of northern Iraq and even advanced against the organization. ISIS also began to suffer economically as the U.S and other allied countries began bombing their oil production and killing many of their fighters through drone strikes.
ISIS responded by turning to the internet, radicalizing a large amount of individuals, replenishing their ranks, and inspiring others to commit acts of terror in the countries that they lived in. Western European countries such as France and Belgium experienced multiple terrorist attacks from radicalized citizens. Soon following, the U.S was hit with large shootings in multiple states. Despite these attacks, ISIS continued to fail at their objectives, as their new fronts were bottled up and their main territory became increasingly beset on multiple fronts.
With the U.S allies in the air, the Peshmerga, and the reformed Iraqi army on the ground, ISIS began to lose ground in 2016. The first of their defeats was one of their first conquered cities, Fallujah, which was taken back by the Iraqi army. From there, ISIS was pushed back along the Tigris river, while losing their partial hold on all the major cities in Syria such as Homs and Aleppo. The tide of the war was fully cemented when the nine month Battle for Mosul was won by the Iraqi army and the Peshmerga. Recently, Raqqa was taken as well.
ISIS had lost its strongholds, its wealth, and many of its soldiers. But despite one's desires and hopes, ISIS is far from gone. While they may have lost most of their territory, the group still have an substantial online presence,an extremely deadly tool. The war on ISIS is still far from over, but there is still a way to combat their aggression, kindness. If we show kindness and acceptance to those affected by ISIS on their reign of terror, instead of turning them away, then we break their power of fear and intolerance, then they will be defeated.
