«Исламское государство» в контексте политических изменений на Ближнем Востоке
The article "The Islamic State phenomenon in the framework of the political changes in the Middle East" is dedicated to the "Islamic State", one of the most powerful and dangerous extremist organizations. Author realizes in this article: research of the genesis and causes of appearance of the movement "Islamic State"; analysis of the sociopolitical and geopolitical situation of the Iraqi Sunni community after the American invasion of 2003; bringing to the light factors of the high scale propagation of the Islamic extremism in Syria and Iraq; research of the military and political potential of the "Islamic State" and factors which could impede its expansion. Author considers "Islamic State" as an emergent phenomenon giving huge impact on the political situation in the Middle East. It provoked repartition of the old frontiers existed since the Sykes-Pico treaty of 1916. To the author's opinion oppression of the Iraqi Sunni community by the government of Nuri al-Maliki was the main cause of the Sunni revolt in Summer of 2014. Sunni tribes of Northern Iraq and former Baath party members were the driving forces of the revolt but then Jihadi extremists hijacked this revolt. To the author's mind elimination of the "Islamic State" is impossible without reconciliation between various religious communities in Syria and Iraq.
Al Qa’ida’s Foreign Fighters in Iraq: A First Look at the Sinjar Records
Abstract : On December 4, 2007 Abu Umar al-Baghdadi, the reputed Emir of al-Qa'ida's Islamic State of Iraq (151), claimed that his organization was almost purely Iraqi, containing only 200 foreign fighters. Twelve days later, on December 16, 2007, Ayman al-Zawahiri urged Sunnis in Iraq to unite behind the 151. Both statements are part of al-Qa'ida's ongoing struggle to appeal to Iraqis, many of whom resent the ISI's foreign leadership and its desire to impose strict Islamic law. In November 2007, received the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point nearly 700 records of foreign nationals that entered Iraq between August 2006 and August 2007. The data compiled and analyzed in this report is drawn from these personnel records, which was collected by al-Qa'ida's Iraqi affiliates, first the Mujahidin Shura Council (MSC) and then the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). The records contain varying levels of information on each fighter, but often include the fighter's country of origin, hometown, age, occupation, the name of the fighter's recruiter, and even the route the fighter took to Iraq. The records were captured by coalition forces in October 2007 in a raid near Sinjar, along Iraq's Syrian border. Although there is some ambiguity in the data, it is likely that all of the fighters listed in the Sinjar Records crossed into Iraq from Syria. The Sinjar Records' existence was first reported by The New York Times' Richard Oppel, who was provided a partial summary of the data. The Combating Terrorism Center is pleased to make the Sinjar Records publicly available for the first time. The purpose of this initial assessment of the Sinjar Records is to provide scholars access to this unique data, in the hope that their scholarship will complement and compete with our own.
The Anbar Awakening
The United States and it allies in Iraq have embraced a tribal strategy to provide security and fight al–Qaeda in Mesopotamia. This approach is not new. Saddam Hussein also sought to use tribal alliances to provide internal security. His experience, and that of the present–day Coalition, demonstrates the prospects and perils of using tribes to provide security. Tension exists between the United States’ two main strategic goals of defeating al–Qaeda in Mesopotamia and building a democratic, unified Iraq. There is also the danger that Iraqi tribes will defect from the Coalition in future.