1. Syrian War, Rise of Islamic State

2. Belligerents Free Syrian Army Islamic Front Islamic State (ISIS) Kurds Al Nusra (al Qaeda) Syrian Government Hezbollah Supported by Russia and Iran

3. From Protests to Civil War Protests March – July 2011 Damascus, Daraa, Aleppo April 2011: Concessions Lifting of Emergency laws, Limited conscription, more press freedoms, social services May 2011: Crackdown July – October, escalation of armed insurgence November: Civil War

4. Basher al Assad 2014 Elections, 88% of the vote

5. Russia’s Role $1.5 billion in arms sales Historic ties Port of Tartus 2011, 2012 Veto UN resolution to sanction Assad Mediation 2013 Chemical Weapons negotiations

6. Kurdish Resistance Peshmerga, Semi- autonomous in Iraq Strength 200,000 Seek to establish unified Kurdisatn

7. Conquest Army Al Nusra, Ahrar al Sham, Free Syrian Army Supported by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar Turkey to supply ground troops Saudi to provide air support US does not support the initiative

8. Islamic State (ISIS) DAESH (ad-Dawlah al-Islamiyah fil Iraq wa ash-Sham) Grew out of al Qaeda in Iraq, Rebranded 2010 Abu Bakr al Baghdadi 29 June 2014 Caliphate declared 8 Million live under ISIS control Vast resources of oil, water, wheat

9. Questions for International Relations Can ISIS survive? What effects on the Middle East Cold War Possibilities for Cooperation? Refugee Crisis? Implications for international intervention (R2P)

10. An Islamic State (Caliphate)? State? Maintains social services, judicial structures and military forces, prints currency Supported through oil resources, human trafficking, private donations Former AQC associate movements ally with ISIS What accounts for IS popularity?

12. Human Rights, Sex Slavery “From 9:30 in the morning, men would come to buy girls to rape them. They were like animals. “Once they took the girls out, they would rape them and bring them back to exchange for new girls. The ages ranged from 8 to 30 years – only 20 girls remained in the end.” http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/shocking- video-shows-isis-fighters-4559568

13. Gulf War I 2003 Al Qaeda in Iraq Abu Musab al Zarqawi Muqtada al Sadr and the Mahdi Army Grande Ayatollah Ali Sistani Sectarian conflict

14. Al Qaeda in Iraq 1999 Formed out of Jama'at al-Tawhid wal- Jihad Rebranded AQI merging with al Qaeda (2004) Consistently insubordinate to AQC Targeting civilians, Shi’ite, holy places Abu Musab al Zarqawi (2006) Anbar Awakening (2007)

15. Anbar Awakening ‘With its penchant for extreme brutality and insistence on implementing a fundamentalist and very strict version of sharia, al- Qaeda in Iraq does have a habit of wearing out its welcome.’ 2006, AQI attack on the al-Askari mosque in Samarra, provoked retribution from Shiites. US troop surge combined with an alliance of tribes produced the Sahawah al-Anbar (Anbar Awakening). Sheikh Abdul ‘One of the most remarkable aspects of the Anbar Awakening is that it was a successful collaboration between two forces, the Coalition and the Sunni tribal leadership, that had previously been adversaries from the earliest days of the Iraqi insurgency.’ AQI was substantially weakened by this effort. However after the US withdrawal in 2011 AQI was resurgent 8000 civilian deaths in 2013 alone

17. The Jihadist Civil Conflict Al Qaeda designates Jabhat al Nusra its representative in Syria Al Qaeda splits with Islamic State February 2014 Infighting between Salafi Jihadist groups “Sheikh Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was wrong when he announced the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham without asking permission” AZ “We affirm our disavowal from the sedition that is occurring in Syria between factions of jihadists” AZ The end of ideology

19. War Against ISIS Free Syrian Army Islamic Front Al Nusra (al Qaeda) Syrian Government Iran Hezbollah Iraq Shi’ite Militias PYG. PYJ Peshmerga Iraq Government U.S., Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Netherlands UK Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, UAE Islamic State

22. Combined Joint Task Force Operation inherent resolve U.S., Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Netherlands UK Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Material support from Qatar, Egypt, UAE

23. Jurgen Todenhofer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ucAqS4 Qodg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=430W_i mRQXw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brN18Lw gYFA