ISIS
Since the 1st century AD Christianity was a significant part of Iraq’s cultural, heritage, and civilisation. A group named Assyrians felt that Iraqis were tired to the land and a denomination in Iraq. Even before the invasion and war with Britain Iraqis have always wanted christians out of their land. The ISIS was formed in 2004 to “ found a hardline Sunni Islamic state.” The ISIS wants to have an Islam country only but since the Iraqi government has interacted with America and has some of the same ideas as America, they want the Iraqi government to fail. Christians are the largest minority in Iraq so they seem to be the center of attention because of their size but really, ISIS is targeting everyone. America and Iran are working together with Iraq’s government and Syria because their religions are being killed in Iraq by ISIS.
Main Events
The major events in the ISIS crisis dates back to 2006 when the US and Sunni militias defeats al Qaeda in Iraq "surge" to help Iraq civilians gain back their control. This might have slowed al Qaeda down but it certainly didn't stop them. After five years al Qaeda is back and frees a lot of prisoners to join their group, so their strength will rebuild. In February of 2014 ISIS and al Qaeda spilt because of the ISIS brutally, later in March ISIS controls the entire northern province of Nineveh. Once the ISIS started gaining more territory President Obama launched an air strike against the ISIS in August 2014.
Timeline of ISIS Conflict:
2004: The ISIS is founded
2006: “US troops and allied Sunni militias defeated al Qaeda in Iraq during the post-2006 "surge" — but it didn't destroy them.”
2011: “In 2011, the group rebooted. ISIS successfully freed a number of prisoners held by the Iraqi government and, slowly but surely, began rebuilding their strength.”
January 2-4, 2014: Iraq loses control of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi in Anbar province to al-Qaeda-linked fighters, after security forces cleared an anti-government protest camp.
Feb, 2014: ‘ISIS and al-Qaeda divorced in February 2014.” The two groups split because the ISIS was too brutal for al-Qaeda.
March, 2014: The chaos in Syria allowed ISIS to hold this territory pretty securely. This is a big deal in terms of weaponry and money. "The war gave them a lot of access to heavy weaponry," Michael Knights said. ISIS also "has a funding stream available to them because of local businesses and the oil and gas sector."
June 10, 2014: ISIS seizes the entire northern province of Nineveh and its capital Mosul and head south towards neighboring Salaheddin province. Maliki says the government will arm citizens to counter the threat.
Aug 7, 2014: “President Obama announced on August 7, 2014, that he had authorized the US military to launch air strikes against ISIS militants in Iraq if they threatened the Kurdish capital of Erbilor the thousands of civilians trapped on Mount Sinjar, both in northern Iraq.”
Aug 19, 2014: “James Foley was an American conflict reporter who went missing in Syria almost two years ago. On Tuesday, August 19th, a video of Foley surfaced. The video, apparently produced by ISIS as a warning to the US to stop air strikes against the group in Iraq, ended with Foley's death.”
2006: “US troops and allied Sunni militias defeated al Qaeda in Iraq during the post-2006 "surge" — but it didn't destroy them.”
2011: “In 2011, the group rebooted. ISIS successfully freed a number of prisoners held by the Iraqi government and, slowly but surely, began rebuilding their strength.”
January 2-4, 2014: Iraq loses control of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi in Anbar province to al-Qaeda-linked fighters, after security forces cleared an anti-government protest camp.
Feb, 2014: ‘ISIS and al-Qaeda divorced in February 2014.” The two groups split because the ISIS was too brutal for al-Qaeda.
March, 2014: The chaos in Syria allowed ISIS to hold this territory pretty securely. This is a big deal in terms of weaponry and money. "The war gave them a lot of access to heavy weaponry," Michael Knights said. ISIS also "has a funding stream available to them because of local businesses and the oil and gas sector."
June 10, 2014: ISIS seizes the entire northern province of Nineveh and its capital Mosul and head south towards neighboring Salaheddin province. Maliki says the government will arm citizens to counter the threat.
Aug 7, 2014: “President Obama announced on August 7, 2014, that he had authorized the US military to launch air strikes against ISIS militants in Iraq if they threatened the Kurdish capital of Erbilor the thousands of civilians trapped on Mount Sinjar, both in northern Iraq.”
Aug 19, 2014: “James Foley was an American conflict reporter who went missing in Syria almost two years ago. On Tuesday, August 19th, a video of Foley surfaced. The video, apparently produced by ISIS as a warning to the US to stop air strikes against the group in Iraq, ended with Foley's death.”
Where the Conflict Stands Today
ISIS is well planned out, well armed, in order to create the Islamic caliphate. With funding from the oil company they are rich in resources. This conflict is still ongoing and the ISIS is currently fighting ISIS: U.S, Syria, Iraq, Kurdish, and Iran.