The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
Hank Gray
American Military University

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is the biggest threat to the Unites States of American in the world today. It is not a question of if they will attack but when they will attack on American soil. To really understand how they might do it and why they want to one must first look at their history and beliefs. Al-Quade started during the Cold War when Russia invaded Afghanistan. The United States was against all things Russian and started to support the locals fight back against the Russians. This led to the United States giving Al-Quade weapons and training. After the withdrawal of the Russians in 1988 a named Ahmad Fadhil Nasal Al-Khalaylah joined Al-Quade. Once there he met a man named Sheikh Abu Muhammad who had a lot more violent outlook then Obama bin Laden. Unlike Bin Laden, Al-Khalaylah, who changed his name to Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, grew up very poor and was a lot more extreme because of this fact. In 1999 he returned to Jordan and formed his own organization known as Jamaat Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad or the Organization of Monotheism and Jihad.
On September 11, 2001 Al-Quade made their motives known when they committed a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon, and another flight that crashed before reaching a target. This would led to the United States invading Afghanistan in 2001 and in 2003 Iraq. Zarqawi’s group was among the extremists who entered the country to fight the United States. His group as well as others and the former Sunni army that was led by Saddam Hussein joined together and eventually joined Al-Qaeda gaining access to it funds and more fighters. They employed tactics that Al-Qaeda did not such as attacking Shia civilians hoping they would attack Sunnis in retaliation. This in turned