Rolling Back the Islamic State

Abstract

In 2014, the Islamic State conducted a blitzkrieg into Iraqi cities, such as Mosul, and seized significant chunks of territory in Syria and Iraq. Its leader, Abu Bakr alBaghdadi, declared a pan-Islamic caliphate and eventually expanded the group to include eight formal provinces; more than a dozen informal provinces; and tens of thousands of inspired individuals across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and North America. This report examines the Islamic State and offers a global strategy to roll the group and its movement back. It assesses key countries where the Islamic State has controlled territory: Iraq, Syria, Libya, Nigeria, Egypt, and Afghanistan. It also analyzes the groups global efforts to spread its ideology; move money, material, and people; secure resources; and conduct attacks. The report should be of interest to policymakers, academics, and general audiences that want to learn more about the Islamic State and strategies to counter the group.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2017
Accession Number
AD1085598

Entities

People

  • Ben Connable
  • Christopher S. Chivvis
  • Daniel Byman
  • Eric Robinson
  • James F. Dobbins
  • Jeffrey Martini
  • Nathan Chandler
  • Seth Jones

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Cyber
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Engineered Resilient Systems
  • Human Systems
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Combat Areas
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Employment
  • Ethnic Groups
  • Geography
  • Interagency Coordination
  • International Organizations
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • National Politics
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Political Systems
  • Social Media
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.