Dean Shumate, Small Wars Journal: What’s in a Name: A Strategic Analysis of The Islamic State
Introduction
Since 2014, the international community has seen the spread of The Islamic State (IS) throughout Iraq, Syria, Libya, and parts of Afghanistan. IS has been referenced by many names, but which is correct? The current presidential candidates argue how IS grew and conquered territory the size of Israel. The Democrats state if the U.S. never invaded Iraq in 2003, there would be no IS; conversely, the Republicans argue if a residual force were left behind instead of complete withdrawal in 2011, there would be no IS. The answer is neither party understands IS. Over the past 15 years, nations and militaries have struggled to understand insurgencies and how to defeat them. Although the military must be prepared to fight a conventional state on state conflict, it is an insurgency that the United States Government (USG) is more likely to confront. The USG strayed away from lessons learned after the Vietnam War, and the author, unfortunately, feels that military leaders want to jettison any lessons learned over the past 15 years. Understanding how to confront an insurgency is important to the current and future aspects of warfare. Therefore, the author will try to respond the questions stated above while looking at a historical analysis of how the U.S. might defeat this group so the questions, do not need to be asked again.
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WNU Editor: If you have an extra hour to spare .... this is a comprehensive review/analysis on the Islamic State.
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