Beyond the frontline: watching ISIS

[davidbfpo]

Two thoughtful academic articles:

1. Burning the earth: Isis and the threat to Britain; Nearly 14 years on from the start of the so-called war on terror, the global jihad movement is deepening and expanding by Shiraz Maher (Kings ICSR):http://www.newstatesman.com/politics...threat-britain
2. Why ISIL Will Fail on Its Own; As a movement, it’s dangerous. But as a state, it’s collapsing. Here’s how to make that work for us. BY Eli Berman & Jacob Shapiro:http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/11/why-isil-will-fail-on-its-own-21340

[JWing]

William McCants going over the main points of his book at a presentation in SF. I think his biggest contribution is his discussion of the culture that IS has created and why it is a draw for people. Here's a link to the video.

[davidbfpo]

Joel,

Great catch the Will McCants podcast, whose insight I never tire of listening to, even if Iraq has receded from my priority list . This is one of three truly useful posts today and illustrates why SWJ remains useful.

[JWing]

Wilson Center video on IS. Features Joby Warrick talking about his new book on IS and Henri Barkey who is an expert on Turkey. Here's a link.

[JWing]

Just wrote an article about Zarqawi's ties with Iran. He operated in the country two times in 2001 & 2003 and set up his first networks running through Iran in 2000 as well. Had the support of the Iranian govt. Here's the piece.

[JWing]

Great article from CTC Sentinel on whether Baathists influence Islamic State's military strategy and tactics.