Combatting the Islamic State: Countering the Islamist Ideology

Abstract

The U.S. continues to struggle with its approach to degrade and destroy the Islamic State (IS), and currently, the demand for accountability has prompted the Obama Administration to develop the impromptu strategy of conducting an air campaign against the terror group. While military force is a viable option of destroying targets, the primary obstacle facing U.S. leaders is correctly identifying the threat. The Islamic State presents a substantial threat to the stability of the Middle East. It is brutal, and well-funded, and it controls a vast array of weapons an Soldiers to fight armies in Iraq and Syria simultaneously. IS uses social media to broadcast the beheadings of Western journalists and the mass murders of Iraqi army Soldiers. It threatens the United States. at home and abroad, while increasing its footprint throughout Iraq and Syria. These events instantly gained the worlds attention and exposed the fact that U.S. foreign policy is weak and the use of only military force is the wrong approach to combating this determined and formidable threat.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 02, 2015
Accession Number
AD1175854

Entities

People

  • Thomas J. Foley

Organizations

  • Marine Corps University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Asymmetric Warfare
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Counterterrorism
  • Foreign Relations
  • Governments
  • Human Rights
  • Intergovernmental Organizations
  • Law
  • Middle East
  • Military Organizations
  • National Security
  • Social Media
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • United States
  • Violence
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.