Facing Off with ISIS G20 Leaders Vow to Fight ISIS Despite Differences
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ISIS Propaganda and United States Countermeasures
BearWorks MSU Graduate Theses Fall 2015 ISIS Propaganda and United States Countermeasures Daniel Lincoln Stevens As with any intellectual project, the content and views expressed in this thesis may be considered objectionable by some readers. However, this student-scholar’s work has been judged to have academic value by the student’s thesis committee members trained in the discipline. The content and views expressed in this thesis are those of the student-scholar and are not endorsed by Missouri State University, its Graduate College, or its employees. Follow this and additional works at: https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses Part of the Defense and Security Studies Commons Recommended Citation Stevens, Daniel Lincoln, "ISIS Propaganda and United States Countermeasures" (2015). MSU Graduate Theses. 1503. https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1503 This article or document was made available through BearWorks, the institutional repository of Missouri State University. The work contained in it may be protected by copyright and require permission of the copyright holder for reuse or redistribution. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ISIS PROPAGANDA AND UNITED STATES COUNTERMEASURES A Masters Thesis Presented to The Graduate College of Missouri State University In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science, Defense and Strategic Studies By Daniel Stevens December 2015 Copyright 2015 by Daniel Lincoln Stevens ii ISIS PROPAGANDA AND UNITED STATES COUNTERMEASURES Defense and Strategic studies Missouri State University, December 2015 Master of Science Daniel Stevens ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is threefold: 1. Examine the use of propaganda by the Islamic State in Iraq and al Sham (ISIS) and how its propaganda enables ISIS to achieve its objectives; 2. -
TITLE Ll—AUTHORITY for the USE of MILITARY FORCE AGAINST
DAV15E09 S.L.C. AMENDMENT NO.llll Calendar No.lll Purpose: To authorize the use of the United States Armed Forces against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES—114th Cong., 1st Sess. (no.) lllllll (title) llllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Referred to the Committee on llllllllll and ordered to be printed Ordered to lie on the table and to be printed AMENDMENT intended to be proposed by Mr. KAINE (for himself and Mr. FLAKE) Viz: 1 At the appropriate place, insert the following: 2 TITLE ll—AUTHORITY FOR 3 THE USE OF MILITARY FORCE 4 AGAINST THE ISLAMIC STATE 5 OF IRAQ AND THE LEVANT 6 SEC. l1. SHORT TITLE. 7 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Authority for the Use 8 of Military Force Against the Islamic State of Iraq and 9 the Levant Act’’. 10 SEC. l2. FINDINGS. 11 Congress makes the following findings: DAV15E09 S.L.C. 2 1 (1) The terrorist organization that has referred 2 to itself as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant 3 and various other names (in this resolution referred 4 to as ‘‘ISIL’’) poses a grave threat to the people and 5 territorial integrity of Iraq and Syria, regional sta- 6 bility, and the national security interests of the 7 United States and its allies and partners. 8 (2) ISIL holds significant territory in Iraq and 9 Syria and has stated its intention to seize more ter- 10 ritory and demonstrated the capability to do so. 11 (3) ISIL leaders have stated that they intend to 12 conduct terrorist attacks internationally, including 13 against the United States, its citizens, and interests. -
Western Foreign Fighters Innovations in Responding to the Threat
Western Foreign Fighters Innovations in Responding to the Threat rachel briggs obe tanya silverman About the authors Rachel Briggs OBE is Senior Fellow at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD). Her research focuses on counter-extremism, especially tackling online extremism through digital disruption and counter-narrative campaigns. She has spearheaded the establishment of ISD’s work in this area. Rachel has 15 years’ experience as a writer, researcher and policy advisor, working with governments, the private sector and civil society to understand the problem and find practical workable solutions. She is also Director of Hostage, a charity that supports hostage families and returning hostages during and after a kidnap. She was awarded an OBE in 2013 in recognition for this work. Tanya Silverman is a Programme Associate at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and is involved in all areas of the organisation’s security and counter-extremism work. Tanya previously worked on the Against Violent Extremism (AVE) network, a partnership between ISD and Google Ideas with members comprising of former extremists, survivors of extremism and activists with the shared goal of countering extremism. She now focuses on researching innovative approaches to counter-radicalisation. Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank Ulrich Dovermann at the German Federal Agency for Civic Education for his kind support and stewardship through the research process, and for being an inspirational driving force for change in the counter-extremism domain. They would also like to thank members of the Policy Planners’ Network on Countering Radicalisation and Polarisation (PPN) who have given their time and knowledge to the report. -
Volume X, Issue 2 April 2016 PERSPECTIVES on TERRORISM Volume 10, Issue 2
ISSN 2334-3745 Volume X, Issue 2 April 2016 PERSPECTIVES ON TERRORISM Volume 10, Issue 2 Table of Contents Welcome from the Editor 1 I. Articles ‘Gonna Get Myself Connected’: The Role of Facilitation in Foreign Fighter Mobilizations 2 by Timothy Holman II. Special Correspondence to Perspectives on Terrorism Why Has The Islamic State Changed its Strategy and Mounted the Paris-Brussels Attacks? 24 by David C. Rapoport III. Research Notes Analysing the Processes of Lone-Actor Terrorism: Research Findings 33 by Clare Ellis, Raffaello Pantucci, Jeanine de Roy van Zuijdewijn, Edwin Bakker, Melanie Smith, Benoît Gomis and Simon Palombi Analysing Personal Characteristics of Lone-Actor Terrorists: Research Findings and Recommendations 42 by Jeanine de Roy van Zuijdewijn and Edwin Bakker Evaluating CVE: Understanding the Recent Changes to the United Kingdom’s Implementation of Prevent 50 by Caitlin Mastroe In Conversation with Mubin Shaikh: From Salafi Jihadist to Undercover Agent inside the “Toronto 18” Terrorist Group 61 Interview by Stefano Bonino IV. Resources Bibliography: Terrorism Research Literature (Part 2) 73 Compiled and selected by Judith Tinnes V. Book Reviews Counterterrorism Bookshelf: 30 Books on Terrorism & Counter-Terrorism-Related Subjects 103 Reviewed by Joshua Sinai ISSN 2334-3745 i April 2016 PERSPECTIVES ON TERRORISM Volume 10, Issue 2 VI. Notes from the Editor Op-Ed: Competing Perspectives on Countering ISIS 118 by Hashim Al-Ribaki Conference Announcement and Call for Proposals 120 About Perspectives on Terrorism 122 ISSN 2334-3745 ii April 2016 PERSPECTIVES ON TERRORISM Volume 10, Issue 2 Welcome from the Editor Dear Reader, We are pleased to announce the release of Volume X, Issue 2 (April 2016) of Perspectives on Terrorism at www.terrorismanalysts.com. -
Right to Act: United States Legal Basis Under the Law of Armed Conflict to Pursue the Islamic State in Syria Samantha Arrington Sliney
University of Miami Law School Institutional Repository University of Miami National Security & Armed Conflict Law Review November 2015 Right to Act: United States Legal Basis Under the Law of Armed Conflict to Pursue the Islamic State in Syria Samantha Arrington Sliney Follow this and additional works at: http://repository.law.miami.edu/umnsac Part of the International Law Commons, Military, War, and Peace Commons, and the National Security Law Commons Recommended Citation Samantha Arrington Sliney, Right to Act: United States Legal Basis Under the Law of Armed Conflict to Pursue the Islamic State in Syria, 6 U. Miami Nat’l Security & Armed Conflict L. Rev. 1 () Available at: http://repository.law.miami.edu/umnsac/vol6/iss1/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Miami National Security & Armed Conflict Law Review by an authorized administrator of Institutional Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Right to Act: United States Legal Basis Under the Law of Armed Conflict to Pursue the Islamic State in Syria Samantha Arrington Sliney* I. INTRODUCTION...................................................................................... 1 II. HISTORY OF THE ISLAMIC STATE ........................................................ 4 III. THE ISLAMIC STATE’S IDEOLOGY ...................................................... 6 IV. TAKE OVER OF SYRIA AND IRAQ, JUNE 2014 TO PRESENT: AN OVERVIEW ........................................................................................ -
“Jihadi John,” Imperialism and ISIS
“Jihadi John,” Imperialism and ISIS By Bill Van Auken Region: Middle East & North Africa Global Research, February 28, 2015 Theme: Intelligence, Media Disinformation, World Socialist Web Site US NATO War Agenda In-depth Report: IRAQ REPORT, SYRIA On Thursday, the Washington Post revealed the identity of “Jihadi John,” the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) operative featured in grisly videos depicting the beheading of US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as two British aid workers, David Haines and Alan Henning. The Post named the ISIS member as Mohammed Emwazi, a 26-year-old who was born in Kuwait and raised in London. He is described in a CNN report as “a Briton from a well-to-do family who grew up in West London and graduated from college with a degree in computer programming.” The media reporting on this identification has been dominated by discussions of the psychology of terrorism and the role of Islamist ideology, along with speculation as to why someone from such a background would choose to engage in such barbaric acts. All of these banalities are part of a campaign of deliberate obfuscation. Purposefully left in the shadows is the central revelation to accompany the identification of “Jihad John”—the fact that he was well known to British intelligence, which undoubtedly identified him as soon as his image and voice were first broadcast in ISIS videos. Not only did Britain’s security service MI5 carefully track his movements, it carried out an active campaign to recruit him as an informant and covert agent. -
Reporting ISIS
Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy Discussion Paper Series #D-101, July 2016 The Pen and the Sword: Reporting ISIS By Paul Wood Joan Shorenstein Fellow, Fall 2015 BBC Middle East Correspondent Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. May 2013: The kidnapping started slowly. 1 At first, it did not feel like a kidnapping at all. Daniel Rye delivered himself to the hostage-takers quite willingly. He was 24 years old, a freelance photographer from Denmark, and he had gone to the small town of Azaz in northern Syria. His translator, a local woman, said they should get permission to work. So on the morning of his second day in Azaz, only his second ever in Syria, they went to see one of the town’s rebel groups. He knocked at the metal gate to a compound. It was opened by a boy of 11 or 12 with a Kalashnikov slung over his shoulder. “We’ve come to see the emir,” said his translator, using the word – “prince” – that Islamist groups have for their commanders. The boy nodded at them to wait. Daniel was tall, with crew-cut blonde hair. His translator, a woman in her 20s with a hijab, looked small next to him. The emir came with some of his men. He spoke to Daniel and the translator, watched by the boy with the Kalashnikov. The emir looked through the pictures on Daniel’s camera, squinting. There were images of children playing on the burnt-out carcass of a tank. It was half buried under rubble from a collapsed mosque, huge square blocks of stone like a giant child’s toy. -
Syria 2014 Human Rights Report
SYRIA 2014 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The authoritarian regime of President Bashar Asad has ruled the Syrian Arab Republic since 2000. The regime routinely violated the human rights of its citizens as the country witnessed major political conflict. The regime’s widespread use of deadly military force to quell peaceful civil protests calling for reform and democracy precipitated a civil war in 2012, leading to armed groups taking control of major parts of the country. In government-controlled areas, Asad makes key decisions with counsel from a small number of military and security advisors, ministers, and senior members of the ruling Baath (Arab Socialist Renaissance) Party. The constitution mandates the primacy of Baath Party leaders in state institutions and society. Asad and Baath party leaders dominated all three branches of government. In June, for the first time in decades, the Baath Party permitted multi-candidate presidential elections (in contrast to single-candidate referendums administered in previous elections), but the campaign and election were neither free nor fair by international standards. The election resulted in a third seven-year term for Asad. The geographically limited 2012 parliamentary elections, won by the Baath Party, were also neither free nor fair, and several opposition groups boycotted them. The government maintained effective control over its uniformed military, police, and state security forces but did not consistently maintain effective control over paramilitary, nonuniformed proregime militias such as the National Defense Forces, the “Bustan Charitable Association,” or “shabiha,” which often acted autonomously without oversight or direction from the government. The civil war continued during the year. -
Return to Raqqa
RETURN TO RAQQA 80' - 2020 MEDIAWAN RIGHTS Produced by Minimal Films [email protected] RETURN TO RAQQA 0 2 SYNOPSIS “Return to Raqqa” chronicles what was perhaps the most famous kidnapping event in history , when 19 journalists were taken captive by the Islamic State, as told by one of its protagonists: Spanish reporter Marc Marginedas, who was also the first captive to be released. MARC MARGINEDAS Marc Marginedas is a journalist who was a correspondent for El Periódico de Catalunya for two decades. His activity as a war correspondent led him to cover the civil war in Algeria, the second Chechen war, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the civil war in Syria, among others. On 1 September 2013, Marginedas entered Syria accompanied by a group of opposition figures from the Free Syrian Army. It was his third visit to the country as a correspondent since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011. His main goal during this latest trip was to provide information on the preparations for a possible international military intervention that seemed very close. Three days later, on 4 September 2013, Marginedas was abducted near the city of Hama by ISIS jihadists. His captivity lasted almost six months, during which he shared a cell with some twenty journalists and aid workers from various countries. Two of these were James Foley and Steven Sotloff, colleagues who unfortunately did not share his fate. Marginedas was released in March 2014 and has not returned to Syrian territory since then. But he now feels the need to undertake this physical, cathartic journey to the house near Raqqa where he underwent the harshest experience of his life, an experience that he has practically chosen to forget over the past few years. -
Open Button Ian Shortingisil.Pdf
THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHREYER HONORS COLLEGE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE SHORTING ISIL: THE ROLE OF FINANCE IN UNDERSTANDING AND DEFEATING ISLAMIC STATE IAN RICHARD BUTTON FALL 2015 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for baccalaureate degrees in Finance and German with honors in Finance Reviewed and approved* by the following: Brian Davis Clinical Associate Professor of Finance Thesis Supervisor and Honors Advisor James Miles Professor of Finance, Joseph F. Bradley Fellow of Finance Faculty Reader * Signatures are on file in the Schreyer Honors College. i ABSTRACT This paper argues that the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is not analogous to conventional terrorist networks such as al-Qaeda. Rather, the United States and its allies must acknowledge ISIL’s uniqueness and assess the means required to defeat a corporatized, modularized enemy. Such an assessment will make apparent the need to view the Islamic State through a business lens and adopt a ‘finances-first’ approach that deploys U.S. ground forces to the region in order to deprive the group of its financial lifeblood: the territory under its control. This study utilizes a cost-benefit approach pioneered by the Rand Corporation to assess difficult and politically challenging public policy options in an objective manner. The goal of this approach is to use the principles of finance and economics in creative ways to make quantitatively optimal decisions that help inform otherwise subjective policy debates. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................... v Chapter 1 Dynamics and Depth of the ISIL Problem ................................................. -
ISIS Type of Organization
ISIS Name: ISIS Type of Organization: Insurgent territory-controlling religious terrorist violent Ideologies and Affiliations: Islamist jihadist pan-Islamist Salafist takfiri Place of Origin: Iraq Year of Origin: Al-Qaeda in Iraq: 2004; ISIS: 2013 Founder(s): Al-Qaeda in Iraq: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi; ISIS: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Places of Operation: ISIS has declared wilayas (provinces) in Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Turkey, Central Africa, Mali, Niger, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, and the North Caucasus. Beyond this, the terror group has waged attacks in Lebanon, France, Belgium, Bangladesh, Morocco, Indonesia, Malaysia, Tunisia, and Kuwait. Overview Also known as: ISIS Al-Qa’ida Group of Jihad in Iraq1 Organization of al-Jihad’s Base in the Land of the Two Rivers40 Al-Qa’ida Group of Jihad in the Land of the Two Rivers2 Organization Base of Jihad/Country of the Two Rivers41 Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI)3 Organization of al-Jihad’s Base of Operations in Iraq42 Al-Qa’ida in Iraq – Zarqawi4 Organization of al-Jihad’s Base of Operations in the Land of the Al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia (AQM)5 Two Rivers43 Al-Qa’ida in the Land of the Two Rivers6 Organization of Jihad’s Base in the Country of the Two Rivers Al-Qa’ida of Jihad Organization in the Land of the Two Rivers7 44 Al-Qa’ida of the Jihad in the Land of the Two Rivers8 Qaida of the Jihad in the Land of the Two Rivers45 Al-Qaeda Separatists in Iraq and Syria (QSIS)9 Southern Province46 Al-Tawhid10 Tanzeem Qa'idat al -
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT of ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION UNITED STATES of AMERICA V. MOHAMMED HAMZAH KHAN
Case: 1:14-cr-00564 Document #: 95 Filed: 11/04/16 Page 1 of 15 PageID #:577 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION UNITED STATES OF AMERICA No. 14 CR 564 v. Judge John J. Tharp Jr. MOHAMMED HAMZAH KHAN GOVERNMENT’S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM The UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, through ZACHARY T. FARDON, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, respectfully submits its Sentencing Memorandum for defendant Mohammed Hamzah Khan. This matter is set for sentencing on November 18, 2016.1 Introduction On October 4, 2014, Mohammed Hamzah Khan, then a 19 year-old — just 16 months removed from high school, where he was known as a good student, a leader, reliable, and courteous2 — attempted to execute a carefully calculated plan to take his younger siblings (Minor 1 and Minor 2) halfway around the world to join and support the barbaric Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. This was not an impulsive decision or a moment of indiscretion. Rather, Khan had planned his travel to join ISIL for months, and understood the gravity of his actions. He was committed to 1 The Presentence Investigation Report is cited “PSR,” the plea agreement is cited as “Plea,” and the Government’s Version is cited as “GV.” Other docket entries in this case are cited as “R.” followed by the docket number. 2 See PSR at ¶64. Case: 1:14-cr-00564 Document #: 95 Filed: 11/04/16 Page 2 of 15 PageID #:578 abandoning his family, his education, his community, and his country for ISIL, and he understood that he would likely die for its cause, and that he was bringing his minor siblings into a war zone.