Primary Sources
Weiss, M. (2015). Confessions of an ISIS Spy. Retrieved November 24, 2015, from http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/15/confessions-of-an-isis-spy.html
Michael Weiss prepared the “Confessions of an ISIS Spy” (2015) in which he recorded the interviews with Abu Khaled, a former operative of the ISIS group. Khaled states that by joining the group, his role was to train the Jihadists and spies to be used by the caliphate in other countries. When asked why the ISIS committed such heinous crimes as beheading civilian, Khaled noted that the acts were triggered by the impartiality shown by the U.S. in attacking some tribes in Iraq during the war. In fact, much of the public videos showing the killings made by the group are facilitated by the need to show the world that they are beyond borders, and they would avenge the Western brutality leveled against their fellow Muslims in Iraq during and even after the war.
Pelley, S. (2014). The Islamic State: On the ground in Iraq. Retrieved November 24, 2015, from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/isis-the-islamic-state-on-the-ground-in-iraq/
Scott Pelley presented an interview with Hazhar Muhammad concerning the state of the ISIS in Iraq. Among other observations made, the group has consistently grown in the number of the supporters and the fighters besides amassing more wealth. When asked how the group started and financed its operations, Muhammad noted that the onset of the group’s operation would be traced back to Iraq after the American invasion. In fact, from the interview he confirms that after the war on Iraq, the U.S. left many weapons that initiated their operations. Through the weapons, the group then set off its campaign and has ever since been receiving much support from the business community in the form of taxes, selling of oil, and other sympathizing financiers.
Snell, L. (2014). VIDEO: Interview With a Captured ISIS Fighter. Retrieved November 24, 2015, from http://www.vocativ.com/world/isis-2/isis-fighter-interview/
An exclusive video footage of an interview with a captured ISIS fighter shows that the group’s ideologies have not been entirely opposed to the American people per se, but rather to the American politics. Tracing back the atrocities caused by the Americans to the people of Iraq and Middle East at large over the years, the group would feel obliged to revenge. Surprisingly, the interview revealed that members from different nations and not only from Iraq and Syria facilitate the operations of the group. In fact, the interview noted the active participation in the operations of the group by Americans men and women who are twice the number of male Americans serves. As such, the interview confirms how America was to blame for the rise and the operations of the ISIS group.
Rt.com. (2015). “Unintended consequences”: Obama traces the origin of ISIS to Bush-era Iraq invasion. Retrieved October 6, 2015, from https://www.rt.com/usa/241325-obama-isis-iraq-bush/
The Rt.com website published an article in which it presents President Obama’s statement that ISIS was an unintended consequence of President Bush’s invasion of Iraq in 2003. Accordingly, the president argued that ISIS was an outgrowth of the Islamic terror group Al-Qaeda after Bush’s invasion had toppled the Saddam Hussein led government. In fact, the president argued that the American government did not consider the consequences of the invasion, and he continues to highlight that the US should have aimed before shooting. In his opinion on the effect of the group, President Obama noted the effect of the group, including the civilian executions committed as well as the exploitation of the oil-rich economies to fund their operations. Besides considering defeating the ISIS group, the president recommended preparedness to face the outcome and possible insurgencies.
Greenfield, T. (2015). ISIS and the Destruction of Archaeological Sites in Iraq. Retrieved November 19, 2015, from http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/global-college/images/greenfield poster.pdf
Tina Greenfield, a specialist in the Near Eastern archaeology, wrote the note on the ISIS destruction of the archaeological heritage of Syria and Iraq. Having been previously and prestigious regarded as the cradle of civilization, many of the great Islamic cities in the region have been destroyed by the group whose ideologies have been not only misleading but also arguably very lethal. Accordingly, the lecture notes that most of the countries’ cultural sites have been destroyed, or they are under the threat of being destroyed as the group advances its anti-western campaign and the formation of the caliphate of Islamic states in the region. The lecture would also highlight a connection between the rise of the group and the Iraq war in 2003.
Books
Sekulow, J. (2014). The rise of ISIS: A threat we can’t ignore (pp. 1-144). New York: Howard Books
Sekulow wrote the book ‘Rise of ISIS; a threat we can’t ignore’ in 2014. He explains the formation of the ISIS group as having been facilitated by the al-Qaeda terror group. However, the genesis would be traced to the Iraq war, which saw the defeat of the Saddam Hussein’s government. Therefore, local terror groups reorganized to oppose the presence of US forces in Iraq. The rise in power and wealth as currently seen with the group is explained by the motive to unite Iraq and Syria for the formation of a common Islamic state. The objective could, therefore, explain the increase in the size of the group and the increased terror activities that the group levels against the Christians and the Western sympathizers. Therefore, the operations of the group have destabilized the economy of the region with much wealth from the oil exploitation being used to facilitate its operations.
McCants, W. (2015). The ISIS apocalypse. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
William McCants confirms that the ISIS group is one of the most lethal Jihad groups in the modern times. In the book ‘The ISIS Apocalypse’, McCants argues that the success of the group has surpassed al-Qaeda in massive following and the economic effects it has had in Iraq and Syria. Its operations have been very brutal in the massive killings it commits, the many women who are enslaved, and seizing the oil wells in the region, as well as daring the world to stop them. The return of ‘Islamic Empire’ was the founding ideology of the group after the end of the Iraq war in early 2003 and hence the support of the study’s thesis.
Weiss, M., & Hassan, H. (2015). ISIS: Inside the army of terror (1-288). New York: Regan Arts
“ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror” is a book written by Michael Weiss and Hassan Hassan. It illustrates how the ISIS group has grown to challenge the West by creating a strong caliphate of Islamic states led by the strict Sharia laws. After the Iraq War, which left many of the indigenous terror groups like al-Qaeda almost disintegrated, some of the elements reorganized to contribute to the formation of the ISIS group as is currently seen in Iraq and Syria. The anti-western campaigns carried out by the group, especially by targeting the western affiliates confirms that the group’s formation was to oppose the operations of the US in the Iraq war at the beginning of the 21st century.
Journals
Hashim, A. (2014). The Islamic State: From al-Qaeda Affiliate to Caliphate. Middle East Policy Council, 21(4).
Hashim wrote the article on the growth of ISIS as an al-Qaeda affiliate into becoming a caliphate. He argued that the United States is to blame for the birth and nurturing of the ISIS. Besides, the article shows that the US foreign policies towards Syria and Iraq explain the retaliatory forces by the formation of the extremist groups in the region. While the US would argue that the efforts and the policies have been aimed at restoring stability in the politically volatile economies in the Middle East region, the partiality in the processes explains how the ISIS group was born with the motive of reclaiming the sovereignty of the Islamic states. Besides, the increased dominance and use of military force towards eradicating the group as against diplomatic strategies has increased sympathy for the group from the locals, a situation that enhances massive recruitment.
Lubold, G., & Dagher, S. (2015). U.S. Airstrikes Target Islamic State Oil Assets. The Wall Street Journal. Online. Retrieved 2015, from http://www.wsj.com/articles/french-airstrikes-in-syria-may-have-missed-islamic-state-1447685772
In another article that featured in the wall street journal, Lubold and Dagher wrote how the US air strikes against ISIS were directed towards the oil assets in the possession of the group in Syria. Accordingly, the article presents a background information on the operations and the origin of the group. Arguments raised by the policy makers showed that the US participation in the Iraq war could have explained the origin of the group and, therefore, the need for coordinated efforts to protect the undesired effects to arise from the ISIS campaign in Syria and Iraq.
Susli, M. (2015). The agenda behind the ISIS’ cultural genocide. Neo journal. Online. Retrieved November 19, 2015, from http://journal-neo.org/2015/07/18/the-agenda-behind-isis-cultural-genocide/
The article by Maram Susli that featured in the Neo journal argues that although many other factors could have contributed to the birth and growth of the ISIS into the monster that it is today, the Iraq war should take the highest blame. The failure to embrace diplomatic means of solving the disputes between Iraq and US in the 2003 war that toppled the Iraq government led to the rise of the insurgency aimed at countering the missions of US in the region. However, the article notes that the effects of the operations of the group in the country have been devastating as shown by the destruction of the country’s cultural heritage.
References
Blanchard, C., Humud, C., & Nikitin, M. (2015). Armed Conflict in Syria: Overview and U.S. Response. Retrieved November 19, 2015, from https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33487.pdf
Greenfield, T. (2015). ISIS and the Destruction of Archaeological Sites in Iraq. Retrieved November 19, 2015, from http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/global-college/images/greenfield poster.pdf
Hashim, A. (2014). The Islamic State: From al-Qaeda Affiliate to Caliphate. Middle East Policy Council, 21(4).
Lubold, G., & Dagher, S. (2015). U.S. Airstrikes Target Islamic State Oil Assets. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2015, from http://www.wsj.com/articles/french-airstrikes-in-syria-may-have-missed-islamic-state-1447685772
Liepman, A., Nichiporuk, B., & Killmeyer, J. (2015). Alternative Futures for Syria Regional Implications and Challenges for the United States. Retrieved November 19, 2015, from http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/perspectives/PE100/PE129/RAND_PE129.pdf
McFate, J. (2015). The ISIS defense in Iraq and Syria: countering an adaptive enemy. Retrieved 2015, from http://understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/ISIS Defense in Iraq and Syria — Standard.pdf
McCants, W. (2015). The ISIS apocalypse. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
Pelley, S. (2014). The Islamic State: On the ground in Iraq. Retrieved November 24, 2015, from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/isis-the-islamic-state-on-the-ground-in-iraq/
Sekulow, J. (2014). The rise of ISIS: A threat we can’t ignore (pp. 1-144). Howard Books
Singer, G. (2015). ISIS’s War on Cultural Heritage and Memory. Retrieved November 19, 2015, from http://ukblueshield.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Singer-Isis_Against_World_Heritage.pdf
Snell, L. (2014). VIDEO: Interview With a Captured ISIS Fighter. Retrieved November 24, 2015, from http://www.vocativ.com/world/isis-2/isis-fighter-interview/
Susli, M. (2015). The agenda behing the ISIS’ cultural genocide. Neo.
Weiss, M. (2015). Confessions of an ISIS Spy. Retrieved November 24, 2015, from http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/15/confessions-of-an-isis-spy.html
Weiss, M., & Hassan, H. (2015). ISIS: Inside the army of terror.
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