Islamic Terrorism

US authorities seem to be unusually reluctant to use air power to help the Iraqi authorities and their Iranian allies in the conduct of the Tikrit offensive. Why?

• R. S. Kalha
• March 24, 2015
• IDSA Comments

The IS frequently releases graphic videos of, for instance, beheadings, on social media. Once these videos surface, an ethical debate arises about the sharing of violent imagery and how these social platforms should deal with the situation.

• Tuva Julie Engebrethsen Smith
• January 23, 2015
• IDSA Comments

The Peshawar school massacre does not appear to be a simple tit-for-tat game; it has an intricate link to the Afghan endgame in which Pakistan wants to be the victor.

• P. Stobdan
• December 22, 2014
• IDSA Comments

China, like Russia, suffers from domestic terrorism (the Uyghur East Turkestan Islamic Movement). Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has put China on a list of countries accused of persecuting Muslims, thus making it a target for jihad.

• Tuva Julie Engebrethsen Smith
• December 17, 2014
• IDSA Comments

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s death will be a serious setback to Daesh as it is different from Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups that did not proclaim a ‘caliphate’. As the history of Islam shows, the proclamation of a new ‘caliph’ can be problematic.

• Sandhya Jain
• November 11, 2014
• IDSA Comments

There is no single factor cited for motivating Central Asians to join ISIS ranks. However, the search for employment and earnings remain the main driver. More than 4 million migrants (Uzbeks, Tajiks and Kyrgyz) engaged in low-paid jobs in Russia are vulnerable to the jihadi network.

• P. Stobdan
• October 22, 2014
• Issue Brief

With the US determined not to commit troops, the military defeat of ISIS, at present, is therefore neither feasible nor imminent. Neither the so-called retrained Iraqi Army, nor US air power against this powerful and motivated force will be sufficient.

• R. S. Kalha
• October 17, 2014
• IDSA Comments

In the West, there is growing realisation that only boots on the ground can defeat or substantially destroy the Daesh. Unless a ground force capable of taking back the territories seized by the Daesh arrives on the scene, the advantage will lie with the jihadis.

• Sandhya Jain
• October 17, 2014
• IDSA Comments

Bitter last ditch battles are being fought by Kurdish men and women, including boys and girls barely out of their teens, against the Daesh. Some feel that to succeed, Washington must cooperate with the Syrian Kurds (YPG) as Kurdish fighters alone have proved willing and capable of taking on the Daesh.

• Sandhya Jain
• October 09, 2014
• IDSA Comments

The participation by the Saudi royal family in the US-led bombing of Daesh positions in Syria indicates Riyadh’s implacable opposition to the mercenary group. Iran, however, has dismissed the air strikes as a “psychological operation”, not a military one.

• Sandhya Jain
• September 29, 2014
• IDSA Comments