Aylin Manduric Cyber Security and Emerging Threats Defense Development Iraq Islamic State Peace & Conflict Studies Security The Middle East and North Africa The United States of America

The Islamic State in Iraq

James Foley in Aleppo, Syria in 2012

James Foley

On August 19, an online video surfaced showing the beheading of American journalist James Foley at the hands of the Islamic State (IS) militant group. American officials appeared horrified by the video, with American president Barack Obama condemning the Islamic State as a group whose “ideology is bankrupt.” During a press conference on August 20, the day after the video’s release, President Obama announced that the United States will be “relentless” in its pursuit of justice and the protection of Americans abroad. Though the President’s statement was a scathing condemnation of the IS, it is unlikely that the execution of James Foley will mark a turning point in American military involvement in Iraq.

Before the beheading, the United States had already been targeting IS areas of operation for air strikes, as well as providing humanitarian assistance to displaced civilians. This occurred after IS threatened key cities such as Baghdad and Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish region in Iraq. IS militants had already taken a third of Iraq and displaced over half a million people in the largely Kurdish Nineveh province alone, which has since been flooded with over 300,000 additional refugees and internally displaced people. At the same time, IS attempted to establish the roots of government in northern Iraq by providing basic services and collecting taxes within IS-controlled areas, all to win support from Sunnis.

This Oct. 31, 2007 file photo, shows a general view of the dam in Mosul, 360 kilometres (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq

Mosul Dam

The US airstrikes were intended in part to protect religious minorities, such as Christians and Yazidis, who have been displaced from their homes as IS fighters expanded their activities into more diverse areas. Airstrikes were also used to protect the Mosul dam, a vital power and water supply for northern Iraq which could, if damaged or improperly maintained, unleash a flood 20 meters deep into the nearby city of Mosul. The situation was further exacerbated by the drought in the region, which IS likely hoped to use to its advantage in taking control of the region. On August 18, Barack Obama announced in a press conference that Kurdish forces and the Iraqi army regained control of the dam with the help of American airstrikes.

A displaced Iraqi family from the Yazidi community eat under a bridge where they found refuge after Islamic State (IS) militants attacked the town of Sinjar on 17 August 2014

Members of the displaced Yazidis community

It is extremely unlikely that the US will choose to offer any kind of direct military approach, and the efforts of Kurdish Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi army combined with American airstrikes and humanitarian assistance for those displaced by the conflict may be the most appropriate response to the crisis in Iraq. A more invasive American attempt to comb the Islamic State out of Iraq could undermine the role of the Iraqi army and Iraqi communities as leaders in returning stability to the region. In a statement released on August 7, President Barack Obama admitted that there is “no American military solution to the crisis in Iraq” and resolved to support the Iraqi government in formulating a sustainable answer to groups like the Islamic State and its predecessor, Al-Qaeda.

These types of groups will continue to grow branches both within Iraq and in surrounding regions as long as communities remain splintered and local governments remain too weak and unpopular to stop them before they gain momentum. The execution of an American journalist serves as a chilling reminder of the global danger the Islamic State and groups like it pose if left to flourish. Humanitarian assistance and limited military support from the US will allow the Iraqi government to take the lead in unifying the nation against the common threat, perhaps allowing for a more sustainable response this time around.

Aylin Manduric
Aylin is working on a Hon. B.A in International Relations and Peace, Conflict, and Justice Studies at the University of Toronto. She works as a compliance analyst for the G20 Research Group and as a civil society analyst for the G8 Research Group. She also volunteers with several global health NGOs, and serves on the executive board of a student group dedicated to global healthcare advocacy. Her research interests include security, counter-terrorism, conflict recovery, and state-building in the Middle East and North Africa. In writing, she hopes to make security and defense issues accessible to readers, and empower youth to take an interest in international relations by offering a balanced perspective on international affairs.