Even as the threat of the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, widely known as ISIS, increases, many remain unaware or uncomprehending about the group’s mission and identity—including the U.S. government.
The New York Times recently published comments by Major General Michael Nagata, the special operations commander for the United States in the Middle East, admitting that he himself had hardly begun figuring out the Islamic State’s appeal.
“We have not defeated the idea,” said Nagata. “We do not even understand the idea.”
The Atlantic says ISIS is a religious group with carefully considered beliefs. Among them is being a key agent of a coming apocalypse.
The group seized Mosul, Iraq, last June, and already controls an area larger than the United Kingdom. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been its leader since May 2010. Its bureaucracy is divided into civil and military arms, and its territory into provinces.
“Let’s be clear about (ISIS). They have rampaged cities and villages, killing innocent, unarmed civilians in cowardly acts of violence…no just God would stand for what they do every single day,” said President Barack Obama.
The state rejects peace as a matter of principle; desires genocide; its religious views make it constitutionally incapable of certain types of change, even if that change might ensure its survival; and it considers itself a herald of—and headline player in—the imminent end of the world.
ISIS follows a distinctive variety of Islam whose beliefs about the path to the Day of Judgment matter to its strategy.
ISIS origins and its growing supporters
The extremist group can trace its history back to the Sunni terrorist organization al Qaeda, specifically the Iraq faction, al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). AQI was responsible for bombings, kidnappings and beheadings in Iraq following the U.S. invasion in the early 2000s.
Although AQI was weakened in Iraq in 2007, the group saw an opportunity to regain power and expand in Syria in 2011. By 2013, the group spread its influence back to Iraq and began going by the name ISIS “reflecting its greater regional ambitions,” according to the U.S. State Department.
ISIS also goes by the monikers Islamic State of Iraq; al-Sham; the Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL); or Daesh, based on an Arabic acronym.
According to the Central Intelligence Agency, the group was believed to have up to 30,000 fighters strong including a growing support base. A large portion of fighters even left their homes and at times traveled half way around the world to join ISIS.
Some 20,000 foreign fighters from 90 countries had traveled to Syria to join one group or another – 3,400 of those fighters are said to have come from Western nations, including 150 from the U.S.
“It’s very difficult to be precise with these numbers because they come from a variety of sources that vary in quality. But the trends are clear and concerning,” Nicholas Rasmussen, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, told Congress last month.
Business Insider reported Africa’s deadliest terror group Boko Haram recently said they want to team up with ISIS. Boko Haram declared its own Islamic state in August 2014 after taking over parts of northern Nigeria.
The recent move by Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, to pledge the jihadist group’s allegiance to ISIS caused widespread alarm and raised concerns that such an alliance would strengthen their ability to cause death and destruction and spread their ideology across the region.
An NBC report said U.S. officials don’t believe ISIS and Boko Haram will partner suggesting one obstacle is racism. “The Arab world is incredibly racist,” explained a U.S. intelligence official. “They don’t see Black Africans as equivalent to them.”
ISIS may show “affinity” with Boko Haram, said the official, “but they stop short of allegiance.”
The ‘kill list’
Most recently, ISIS has created a “kill list” consisting of names, addresses and photos of American military members that has triggered an investigation, according to the White House.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said it doesn’t appear any information system was breached. Instead, it appears the information was taken from social media.
In fact, according to a study published by the Brookings Institution and financed by Google Ideas, ISIS has been astonishingly successful at spreading its message via social media.
Despite repeated attempts by Twitter to thwart the Islamic State’s threats, propaganda and recruiting by suspending accounts linked to the terrorist group, supporters have maintained thousands of active accounts on the social network, the study said. The users include a disciplined core group that sends messages frequently and understands how to maximize its impact.
The 92-page report found that a minimum of 46,000 Twitter accounts operate on behalf of the Islamic State.
“Jihadists will exploit any kind of technology that will work to their advantage,” said J. M. Berger, an expert on online extremism and lead author of the study.
They’ve used social media to publicize executions of prisoners, including beheadings and at least one immolation, and to espouse death, violence and hatred for all perceived enemies.
Twitter’s crackdown on the group has led to death threats against the company’s leaders and employees.
U.S. action
The U.S. has plans to drive ISIS out of Iraq but Iran is beating America to it. Earlier this month Iraqi military forces and Shiite militias have been fighting to encircle the Iraqi city of Tikrit in a bid to drive out ISIS forces.
Last month Fox 59 reported that an ISIS-related arrest was made along Ronald Reagan Parkway near the Indianapolis International Airport. Court documents state Nihad Rosic, a 26-year-old Bosnian immigrant accused of conspiring to provide money and weapons to ISIS in the Middle East as well as conspiring to kill and maim persons in a foreign country, was arrested Feb. 6, the same day President Obama was visiting Indianapolis.
Rosic is alleged to have used Facebook and coded language to communicate with terrorist groups and transfer funds.
Rosic is a New York resident and a naturalized U.S. citizen. He was in the Marion County jail from Feb. 6 to Feb. 11 before being transferred to a jail in Missouri, where he will be tried.
If convicted, the crimes of conspiring to provide material support and providing material support carry penalties ranging from 15 years for each count and fines up to $250,000. Rosic’s crime of conspiring to kill and maim persons in a foreign country carries a penalty of up to life in prison.
Rosic was one of six Bosnian nationals based out of St. Louis that were detained for their connections to ISIS.
Officials have not said why Rosic was in Central Indiana at the time of arrest.
Hoosier helpers
The Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper reached out to the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) requesting an interview to discuss what precautions the state is taking if ISIS became present and aggressive in Indiana.
John Erickson, director of public information office for the department responded via email, “I’m guessing the following is not exactly what you’re looking for, but at this point it’s all I’m going to be able to say about your request.”
He then provided information about the “See Something, Say Something” program, which encourages citizens to report suspicious behavior.
IDHS also is asking Hoosiers to put into practice the “See Something, Say Something” program, which asks citizens to keep their eyes open for suspicious behavior and bravely report it.
Report questionable activity to on-site security, local law enforcement or the Indiana Intelligence Fusion Center by emailing iifc@iifc.in.gov or calling (877) 226-1026. If you believe danger is imminent, call 911.
Erickson said IDHS is working closely with local, federal and other state agencies for the safety of the citizens of Indiana in all cases of potential threat to Indiana. Public safety partners in Indiana are constantly evaluating criminal and potential terrorist activities as a threat to the public’s safety.
For more information, go to getprepared.in.gov and click on “terrorism.”
