Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
Rise of ISIS
The Islamic State is known worldwide for their acts of terror. To really understand them, we must understand how it all began. Back in 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. Rebels fought back with support of the international community. Among the rebels are two men named Osama Bin Laden and Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi. The Soviets withdrawed from Afghanistan in 1989, which caused the rebels to go home to grow their insurgency groups. Osama Bin Laden expands his group called Al Qaeda, while Zarqawi forms a group as well called al-Tawhid, which later would be renamed to ISIS. When they return to Afghanistan in 2001, Bin Laden launches an attack against the US on September 11, 2001. The US retaliates by invading Afghanistan, so both men flee the country. Zarqawi flees to Iraq but the Americans later invade Iraq as well. Now Iraq soldiers are out of a job and angry. This causes them to join insurgency groups. Zarqawi's group is ruthless but mainly attacks Shia muslims causing a religious battle. Al Qaeda forms an alliance with Zarqawi but he is killed in a US airstrike. In 2011, the Syrian Civil War began but Zarqawi's group was brought back up, under the leadership of a man named Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. A year later, he sends a man named Jabhat al-Nusra to Syria. Baghdadi expands into Syria through Jabhat al- Nursa and renames the group the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
How ISIS Became Known
Even through all the attacks in Syria and Iraq, ISIS was not well known internationally. This all changed when an American reporter James Foley was killed by ISIS on video for the world to see. The US declared war on ISIS, and in response, the U.S. launched a series of airstrikes against ISIS. ISIS is now losing land, but they respond with a new tactic - terror attacks.
Terror Attacks
.In 2014, ISIS was being crushed by the US's airstrikes. ISIS began to launch terror attacks in retaliation. Country's like Turkey, France, and Belgium are examples of where ISIS conducted major attacks that killed many of people. These attacks were planned and done by ISIS leaders and took months to achieve. Attacks like San Bernadino and Orlando were done by individuals who pledged alliance to ISIS, but were not in the group. This is what makes the terror attacks so hard to stop. Most of the time the attacks are carried out by individuals who are not necessarily part of the group, but are inspired by the terrorists to carry out an attack. The attacks that are planned by terrorist groups tend to result in more casualties.
ISIS Goal
To understand why ISIS is doing such terrible acts of aggression, you have to understand its goal. To understand ISIS's goal, you just need to look at its name. ISIS stands for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. ISIS wants to create a unified Islamic State, known as the caliphate and enforce Sharia law. They believe if they do this, they can help bring about the apocalypse.
ISIS announced that they were in control of the caliphate and that ISIS’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was the caliph. A caliph is the chief of the Muslim civil and religious rule, that is the successor of Muhammad. Since their goal is a Muslim caliphate, they need to expand to create its global caliphate. Their goal, could lead to their demise as discussed below.
ISIS announced that they were in control of the caliphate and that ISIS’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was the caliph. A caliph is the chief of the Muslim civil and religious rule, that is the successor of Muhammad. Since their goal is a Muslim caliphate, they need to expand to create its global caliphate. Their goal, could lead to their demise as discussed below.
ISIS Demise
While ISIS is a very powerful threat, they do have an Achilles heel. To achieve ISIS's goal of a Muslim caliphate, they need to keep expanding. This means they will have many battles to fight and leaves them prone to military strikes. They are surrounded by enemies and have few allies. As they lose land, they lose their profit from the oil money, which they desperately need. Experts say that ISIS will die out overtime, but it is going to take a while because of consistent resistance. The group may one day die, but it only takes one person to conduct a terrorist attack.
What's happening now
Since ISIS's campaign began in 2014, they have captured a city called Mosul. Mosul is the second largest city in Iraq. Iraqi forces have closed in on the city and the United States has sent 200 troops to help with the fight. It will take a while to recapture the city but their is a potential problem with the recapture of the city. Mosul is the last stronghold for ISIS in Iraq and they are not going to give it back without a fight. They will do anything to keep the city in their possession. If ISIS keeps losing grounds, the situation in Syria could potentially turn into an even longer humanitarian crisis.
Hezbollah
What's Hezbollah?
Hezbollah means "the party of God." Hezbollah is a shi'a Islamic militant group and political party, located in Lebanon.
Hezbollah's rise
In 1982, Israel began its campaign against Lebanon because they were allowing fighters that fought for the Palestine Liberation Organization to stay in their country. The people of Lebanon were very unhappy about Israel's campaign and they finally had enough when the Israeli army made it to Beirut. The people of Lebanon started to take up arms and fight back. The war on Israel was mostly fought by Shi’a Muslims, who eventually formed their own group. This group was called Hezbollah, which means “party of God.” Because this movement was Shi’a, foreign countries began to back it. For example, Iran became very involved with the group. Iran provided Hezbollah arms and funded them. This alliance was informal until in 1985, when the Iranian leader announced that Iran had a formal alliagance with Hezbollah. With Iran’s help, Hezbollah was able to drive Israel out of Lebanon.
Hezbollah's Political Rise
Hezbollah is commonly known as a militant group, but they also have a major political impact in Lebanon. After they drove out the Israeli army in 1985, the group formed into a political party with the help of Iran and Syria. People started to join the political party and run for office using the party support. Because of their political power, they are often referred to as a “state within a state.” The group was gaining support rapidly, but that all changed when they attacked Israel. They began to kidnap members of the Israeli army and continue other terrorist acts. The group lost tons of support from within Lebanon.
Is Hezbollah a Terrorist Group
The United Nations and the Arab League officially recognize Hezbollah as a terrorist group because of their attacks on Israel and the attack in Beirut that killed 220 marines in 1983. Hezbollah's goal is to establish an Islamic Government across the Arab world and then take down Israel. This is a terrorist ideology.
Hezbollah's Role in Syria
Since Hezbollah is predominantly Shi’a, they are backed by Shi’a majority governments such as Syria and Iran. When the rebellion against the Syrian government began, Iran sent Hezbollah to Syria to aid Bashar’s regime. This is another reason why Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization. In April 2017, Assad released sarin gas on innocent civilians again, but this time 70 were killed. President Trump responded by launching missiles to destroy a Syrian base. Assad will find it difficult to respond in a warlike matter because of the power of the United States and the fact that his military has been greatly diminished over the course of a six year civil war. He may be forced to use his third party, Hezbollah, to conduct terror attacks across the west.