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The Global War on Terror has consumed a great deal of American resources since 2001. Operating within Iraq and Afghanistan for almost two decades, the US has failed so far to put together a plan for war termination in the Middle East. This raises the question of whether, or not, al Qaeda’s – along with associated movements’ – strategy and related operations have been successful since war was declared on the United States. To respond to the question, we compared elements of al Qaeda’s plans and actions with Mao Zedong’s theory on how to carry out a protracted war in three stages. By doing so, it sounded reasonable to state that al Qaeda, although fairly successful in implementing its stage 1, failed to evolve its own army-like to deal with stages 2 and 3. It was also observed that neither al Qaeda nor al Qaeda in Iraq have timely reassessed their failing strategy.

IŞİD, el-Kaide’nin ana rahminde vücut bulmuş, sonradan Suriye’yi de içine alacak şekilde genişlemiş Irak merkezli radikal İslamcı bir gruptur. IŞİD, silahlı İslami hareketlerin tamamını değiştiren bir örnek olarak görülebilir. Örgüt şöhretini, hilafetin kurulmasını dillendirmesine değil, bu ütopyayı 29 Haziran 2014’te ilk defa gerçekleştirmesine borçludur. IŞİD, küreselleşmenin getirdiği imkânlardan üst düzeyde istifade eden bir yapıdır. Bu bağlamda iletişim araçlarını etkili bir şekilde kullanmakta, eylemlerini dünyaya yazılı veya görsel medya üzerinden servis etmektedir. IŞİD, din anlayışını temel alarak kendisi gibi düşünmeyen İslami grup ve mezhep mensuplarını rahatlıkla öldürmektedir. IŞİD’in saldırılarına en çok hedef olan kitle Şiilerdir. Teolojik olarak ayrı kulvarda konumlandırılan Şiilerin, Irak işgalinde Amerikalılara rehberlik ettiği düşüncesi, akabinde Suriye’de Hizbullah’ın İran’ın mezhebi politikaları doğrultusunda bölgede bulunması IŞİD’in Şiilere yönelik öfkesini arttıran unsurlardır. Makalede İŞİD’in İngilizce yayınladığı Dabiq adlı derginin 13. sayısında yer alan iki makaleden hareketle Şiilere bakışı, düşüncesinin kaynakları tespit edilmeye çalışılmıştır. Makalede nitel içerik analizi kullanılmıştır. İki makalede öne çıkan dört ana tema belirlenmiş, kodlar bu başlıklar altında bağlamından koparılmadan değerlendirilmiştir. Gerçekleştirilen analizde, İŞİD’in tüm söylemlerinin merkezinde Şiilerin, düşünce tarihinde olumsuz anlam içeriğine sahip “Râfizî” kavramıyla özdeşleştirilerek, tamamen ortadan kaldırılmaları gereken öncelikli hedef olduğu tespit edilmiştir.

This paper examines the rise of ISIL in the context of wider debates in the first half twentieth century on the nature and political direction of the early Bolshevik state model of Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin. It argues that there are some parallels between the Trotskyite internationalist tendency in Soviet Russia and of ISIL given the latter’s calls for revolutionary jihad against both ‘apostate’ states in the Islamic world and, in the longer term, against the Western world as a whole. ISIL though is distinguished by its attempt to carve out a new state formation of its own in parts and Iraq and Syria, a project that may well end in failure. However, even if its so-called caliphate fails, it cannot be expected to vanish from the scene since it can either re-emerge elsewhere in a region of weak or failing states or merge with its current rival Al Qaeda. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article seeks to explore specific modes of visual communication concerning the so called 'Islamic State of Iraq.' As an alliance of some Jihadist groups under the lead of al-Qa'ida in Iraq, this movement managed after the year 2003 to temporarily seize control of some parts of the Iraqi soil and perpetrate mass-casualty attacks. Hence, it still poses one of the most serious threats for the young Iraqi republic. Regardless of the actual validity of this 'state', the article argues that Jihadist groups are able to operate in the Middle East, among other things, because they manage to connect their ideas, norms and beliefs to the cultural memory of their recipients. They employ symbols and semantics that gain effect through reconnection to the religious and cultural heritage. These symbols and semantics are, at the same time, used to frame reality in a specific way and portray the Jihadist ideology as the serious basis for an alternative model for society. The article will examine the political iconography of the 'Islamic State of Iraq' in digitally circulated images. It will present an iconological analysis of the composition and construction of paradigmatic icons and images and will show which motifs, themes and narratives are employed to give meaning to iconographical representations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article answers three questions: What is the nature of the Long War? How is progress (or lack thereof) to be assessed? Where is it likely to go next? An appreciation of Clausewitz shows that practical centers of gravity exist for the Long War, and that the conflict pivots upon the ability to persuasively link ideology to events via a strategic narrative. A close examination of an illustrative case study, the interaction between the US and the late Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq 2004 - 2006, shows that Al Qaeda has suffered a severe setback, but also that the nature of the war is set to shift yet again. Further tangible progress for the US requires waging the Long War as a global counterinsurgency based on a strategy of 'selective identification' (versus pure 'disaggregation') as well as an understanding of how to more effectively craft a strategic narrative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]