Islamic State’s stunning success this summer as it swept across northern Iraq and Syria flows from a highly organized structure controlled by a tightknit cadre led by an Islamist zealot who learned from the mistakes of his al Qaeda predecessors.
Blending familiar terrorist acts such as car bombings with conventional military tactics, the group bolsters its strength with local tribal connections and the skills of former generals in Saddam Hussein’s army, said Western and Middle Eastern officials tracking the extremist movement.
Thrown into the mix is an effective recruitment strategy””join us or die, some young men in captured areas are told””along with wealth from the extortion of local businessmen and the appeal to religious fundamentalists of having a new Islamic “caliphate” on occupied land. To its supporters, Islamic State has effectively portrayed the quest for territory as an existential fight for Sunni Muslims world-wide.