Analysis Essay Example on of ISIS in Syria

Terrorism has become a global threat that all countries are seeking to prevent and neutralize in any way possible. The effects of terror attacks are devastating ranging from massive losses of lives, destruction of property worth billions and considerably damaging to economies. History has only sad occurrences as far as terror attacks are considered including the 9/11 attacks which resulted in the highest number of fatalities and injuries (Shostak 2017). The terror attacks are always organized by organized terrorist groups including al Qaeda and ISIS the latter being based in Iraq and Syria. This paper explores ISIS as a terrorist organization in Syria, its background; the current intelligence on the group, why this group is chosen and how open source intelligence can be effective in horizon scanning and collection of information on terror activities.

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Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS, is a terrorist organization which holds violent ideologies while also claiming religious authority over all Muslims around the world. Loads of information available from the open source intelligence claim that ISIS was inspired by Al Qaeda before the former detached itself from the latter, but their operations are always connected (Kavalek 2015). ISIS has not only become a regional problem in the Middle East but also poses a significant threat on a global scope. Listed as a terror group by the United Nations, this organization is known by its beheading of soldiers, civilians, aid workers, and journalists as well as the destruction of cultural heritage sites. It has claimed numerous responsibilities of bomb attacks, war crimes, ethnic cleansing in Iraq, and abuse of human rights among other crimes. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is the leader of the ISIS organization and has the final say in its matters of killings or executions. The group also has other councils of leadership, finance, security, legal matters, intelligence, and media. Apart from Syria and Iraq, ISIS also holds territorial claims over other regions including but not limited to Libyan provinces, Sinai province, Algerian province, and the Islamic States in Gaza (Shostak 2017).

The ISIS terror organization was founded in 1999 by a Jordanian jihadist called Abu Musab al-Zarqawi who went to Iraq and carried out numerous bomb attacks and beheadings among other atrocities. The organization blazed onto the terror scene in 2014 on the first day of Ramadan. It is during this time that Abu al-Baghdadi declared himself as the leader of all Muslims. Attached to this declaration, ISIS established itself as a caliphate capable of exerting state-like control or dominance in its territories. The organization has recruited tens of thousands of foreign fighters through radicalization that target potential recruits on the internet and social media platforms. ISIS participated in the Syrian civil war of 2011 by sending its fighters across the border establish itself within the territorial borders of Syria. ISIS has thrived ideologically and through training with the help of other influential groups such as the Haqqani Network (HQN) founded by Jalaluddin Haqqani and other Taliban groups. HQN's affiliation with other networks has placed it on a central position to support ISIS in their agendas of terror on their claimed territories (Kavalek 2015)

The main reason why this group matters for consideration is because of the massively deadly consequences of terror attacks. Deaths, bombings, ethnic cleansing, and radicalization to Islamic extremism are some of the global problems that the world faces at the moment. Ethic influenced killings have been recently witnessed in countries with minimal Islamism in terms of religion. The ideology of extremism and violence propagated by ISIS has caused the world more pain. In Syria where its dominance is maximal, the economy of the country has stalled with constant wars and attacks. There is no safety for humanity anymore until when the activities of such groups like ISIS are stopped, and the groups disbanded militarily, by cooperation or otherwise (Khan and Ruiz Estrada 2015).

The currently available intelligence on ISIS by US intelligence agencies indicates that the group has thrived massively outside the US borders but its influence ripples across many other countries. The fight against terrorism, conducted by the US and other countries through missiles and other means, has reportedly resulted in territorial and leadership defeat. On the contrary, intelligence committees assert that the group is continually exerting a lot of influence and the war is far from over (Reints 2019).

There is no doubt that ISIS will continue to conduct external attacks especially on countries that oppose their ideologies. The anti-ISIS groups are constantly repelling ISIS fighters in Iraq and Syria meaning there is a united front in fights against terrorism from their sources of dominance. Open source intelligence intervention is critically needed to spot and neutralize terror threats before they happen. This way, lives can be saved in time, destruction can be averted, and extremism fought (Reints 2019).

Conclusion

In conclusion, ISIS together other terror organizations have caused deaths and pain that the world cannot sit down and watch. In Syria, the organization's dominance is felt than in other regions. It is of great importance to gather intelligence information on such groups and act right to thwart terror before it strikes. That way, the world can be a safer place for everyone irrespective of one's religious, ethnic and territorial affiliations

References

Kavalek, Tomas. 2015. "From Al-Qaeda In Iraq To Islamic State: The Story Of Insurgency In Iraq And Syria In 2003-2015". Alternatives: Turkish Journal Of International Relations 14 (1): 1. doi:10.21599/atjir.29299.

Khan, Alam, and Mario Arturo Ruiz Estrada. 2015. "The Effects Of Terrorism On Economic Performance: The Case Of Islamic State In Iraq And Syria (ISIS)". Quality & Quantity 50 (4): 1645-1661. doi:10.1007/s11135-015-0226-9.

Reints, Renae. 2019. "U.S. Intelligence Report Says ISIS Remains A Threat, Despite Trump'S Claims Of Defeat". Fortune. http://fortune.com/2019/01/29/isis-remains-threat/.

Shostak, Alessio. 2017. "Striking At Their Core: De-Funding The Islamic State Of Iraq And Syria". Journal Of Terrorism Research 8 (1): 43. doi:10.15664/jtr.1327.