The ISIS Scares the World: From Lone Wolf Terrorists to Cyber War, What Is the Real Threat?
The group has grown greatly during the Syrian civil war, when he was one of the many opponents groups of the Assad regime, benefiting from the aid that the West has for years sent: weapons and training to the so-called “Syrian rebels” in the training camps of Turkey and Jordan.
Although it is claimed to not arm the jihadists but the rebels moderates groups, those who legitimately tried to oppose the regime, in reality many warnings were given by the Secret Service about the real destination of the weapons, which were often sold from moderate rebels to jihadists. Without counting the fighters who, once trained and entered in Syria, stood in line on the side of ISIS.
At the end even the leader of al-Qaeda has distanced itself from the group because it was too violent. Thus was born the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (or the Levant), which in June this year proclaimed the birth of the Caliphate and changed its name to the Islamic State. Despite the moderate Islamic world distances himself from all this and does not recognize the new Caliph, he receives support among jihadists not only in the Middle East but in the whole of Africa and Asia, due to its rapid expansion and territorial conquests.
In a few months the militants of the Islamic State win an extremely vast territory between Iraq and Syria, forcing to the withdrawal the Iraqi army and finding as the only force able to stop them the Peshmerga, the Kurdish fighters defending their territory, preventing the Islamic State to conquer it. Money and weapons to the Caliph not lacking: during the conquests came into possession of large quantities of weapons from local police and the Iraqi army, but also of enormous sums of money that were found in the banks of the conquered cities. In addition, the Caliph has won numerous oil fields, and today it is estimated that income from the illegal sale of oil from reaching the one million dollars a day. They help fill the coffers also taxes that are imposed in the conquered territories, especially to those who have not converted and the goods confiscated to all those who were forced to escape leaving their homes.
The strategy of the Caliph, much more concrete than ideological waged by the followers of al-Qaeda and Bin Laden, as well as the conquest of territories and the creation of boundaries, is also based on the exploitation of the opportunities of the network, both for recruit new fighters that spread terror disseminating video of beheading, torture and murder horrible.
They have created an on-line magazine, are extremely active on social networks, especially Twitter, attacking websites and online bank accounts to finance themselves, making a powerful weapon of cyber war.
The Islamic State ‘s threat is very real and dangerous, the phenomenon of foreign fighters is what makes most fear: for months Western intelligence agencies seek to identify and follow those who join and leave to fight in Syria and Iraq, but errors and misunderstandings are on the agenda, so while the French police waiting to arrest three jihadists returning from Syria at the airport in Paris, their land at Marseilles, and turn freely for the country. Arrests follow one another from London to Australia. The UN urges countries to adopt laws that make it illegal journeys undertaken in order to enlist.
The mayor of New York has recently stated that this is the most serious threat that we have seen since September 11.
President Obama has asked for and obtained the creation of a global coalition to counter the threat of the Islamic State. Air raids are in place in these days both in Iraq and in Syria, from France, USA, Saudi Arabia. Maybe it will add even Britain. Other countries such as Italy and Germany sent weapons and aid of various kinds. So grows the terrorism alert for fear of retribution. After all they are already in our midst. They are French, English, Italian, Dutch, Americans, Spanish citizens…
