The Metamorphosis of the Daesh-wrought Territorial Caliphate RL Vol XIII No 446 MMXIX

The Metamorphosis of the

Daesh-wrought Territorial Caliphate

What & where is the Culmination of the Middle East Turmoil?

Public Lecture - Respublica Litereria - RL Vol XIII No 446 MMXIX

Costantinos Berhutesfa Costantinos, PhD

Professor of Public Policy & Sustainable Institutional Reforms

https://addisababa.academia.edu/CostyCostantinos

Abstract

In Syria, more than half a million people have already died and eleven million (half the population) have been displaced, because when protests occurred in early 2011, the Syrian government reacted with unnecessary violence. When the government used deadly force to crush the dissent, protests demanding the president's resignation erupted nationwide. The unrest spread and the crackdown intensified. Opposition supporters took up arms, first to defend themselves and later to rid their areas of security forces. Mr Assad vowed to crush what he called foreign-backed terrorism. The violence rapidly escalated and Syria descended into civil war. In 2014, the forces of the Daesh shocked the world by seizing Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq. The government in Baghdad watched helplessly as its security forces crumbled and tens of thousands of residents fled their homes. Less than three weeks later, Daesh proclaimed itself the Caliphate—that is, the legitimate successor to the state led by the Prophet Muhammad—thus casting its victory as the start of a new era of Islamic ascendancy. The rise of Daesh electrified Islamist extremists around the world. Soon a rising chorus of voices at home would be demanding decisive military action to roll back Daesh. Indeed, Daesh and Hezbollah are the two most important Arab non-state militaries that demonstrated a clear superiority in their battlefield competence over the vast majority of Arab militaries since WWII. Warfare is a competitive activity, and to win you do not have to be good, just better than your opponent is. One of the most important advantages that Daesh fighters bring to the battlefield is their commitment. Moreover, Daesh as an organisation understands the military value of such fervour and consciously works to instil and enhance it. Daesh “deems military training of secondary importance as compared to the effort that it puts into cultivating the combatants’ desire to fight (Pollack, 2019). Now that Daesh has been cleared of its territory, is it defeated? The paper recommends the way forward.

Key words: Daesh, ISIS, Syria, Terrorism, Caliphate, Iraq, Iran, Sunni, Shia, ontological security

See paper here or https://www.academia.edu/38669023/The_Metamorphosis_of_the_Daesh-wrought_Territorial_Caliphate_What_and_where_is_the_Culmination_of_the_Middle_East_Turmoil