Tag Archive: Iraq

Jihadis from the West

“The romance of jihad is not that different from the romance that leftist communists had for the republican side during the Spanish Civil War” Professor Bernard Haykel of Princeton University’s Department of Near… Continue reading

Winning the battle, losing the war? Trump’s strategy to fight ISIS

“So what if you win the battle against ISIS in Mosul, and lose the struggle to rebuild the Middle East?” On the campaign trail, Donald Trump presented himself as relentless in the fight… Continue reading

Plotting for the morning after: ISIS’ future after the fall of Mosul and Raqqa

“Only when Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria fall, can we begin to talk about the beginning of the end of the physical territorial state. We already have plenty of evidence, that… Continue reading

The Folly of Bombing the Islamic State

“Bin Laden was very proud that he had only spent 500.000 dollars on the 9/11 attacks. The US in response to those attacks has probably spent 3 trillion dollars. So as a return… Continue reading

Killing Al-Baghdadi: the end of the Caliphate or part of the narrative?

“IS and all jihadis believe that there is going to be war until the day of reckoning. A Caliphate will be re-constituted before the end times. But there are 12 Caliphs before the… Continue reading

Bernard Haykel on Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State

“IS is a symptom of a deep feeling amongst Sunni Arabs of being disenfranchised. […] It is the same sentiment that led to the emergence of Al-Qaeda.” Professor Bernard Haykel of Princeton University’s Department… Continue reading

How Islamic is the Islamic State?

“To say that IS is outside of the interpretive parameters of Islam is factually incorrect. […] There is no question that these people are drawing inspiration from Islamic texts. And they know these… Continue reading