18 things about ISIS you need to know

18 Cards

EDITED BY Zack Beauchamp

2015-11-14 14:50:00 -0500

1. ISIS used to be al-Qaeda in Iraq
2. ISIS wants to establish a caliphate
3. The conflict between Iraqi Sunnis and Shias sustains ISIS
4. Iraq’s former prime minister made the ISIS problem worse
5. ISIS also holds a huge amount of territory in Syria
6. ISIS funds itself through oil and an extortion racket
7. The global oil market was spooked by ISIS's initial advance, but now the effect is minimal
8. The conflict was a boon to Iraq's Kurds — at first
9. Dangerous Shia militias are playing a huge role in the conflict
10. ISIS has made significant territorial gains in Iraq, but it's being pushed back
11. Iraqi forces are much stronger than ISIS, but the Iraqi army is kind of a mess
12. Iran is fighting on the Iraqi government’s side
13. The US and Iran are tacitly cooperating in Iraq
14. The US is waging a campaign to destroy ISIS
15. Some Americans blame Obama for ISIS's growth
16. Iraq's Sunnis and minorities will probably suffer the most
17. ISIS captured and executed James Foley and Steven Sotloff, two American journalists
18. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the Paris attack

1. Card 1 of 18

   ISIS used to be al-Qaeda in Iraq

2. Card 2 of 18

   ISIS wants to establish a caliphate

   Since pledging allegiance to al-Qaeda in 2004, the group's goal has been remarkably consistent: to found a hard-line Sunni Islamic state in their Syrian and Iraqi holdings. As General Ray Odierno puts it: "They want complete failure of the government in Iraq. They want to establish a caliphate in Iraq." Even after ISIS split with al-Qaeda in February 2014 (in part because ISIS was too brutal even for al-Qaeda), ISIS's goal remained the same.

   Today ISIS holds a fair amount of territory in both Iraq and Syria — a mass roughly the size of the United Kingdom. One ISIS map, from 2006, shows its ambitions stopping there — though, interestingly, overlapping with a lot of oil fields:

   

   (ISIS/Aaron Zelin)

   Another shows its ambitions stretching across the Middle East, and some have apparently even included territory in North Africa:

   

   (Ali Soufan/ISIS)

   Now, ISIS has no chance of accomplishing any of these things in the foreseeable future. It isn't even strong enough to topple the Syrian or Iraqi governments at present, and it's actually lost a fair amount of territory since its summer 2014 peak. But these maps do tell us something important about ISIS: It's incredibly ambitious, it thinks ahead, and it's quite serious about its expansionist Islamist ideology.

3. Card 3 of 18

   The conflict between Iraqi Sunnis and Shias sustains ISIS

4. Card 4 of 18

   Iraq’s former prime minister made the ISIS problem worse

5. Card 5 of 18

   ISIS also holds a huge amount of territory in Syria

6. Card 6 of 18

   ISIS funds itself through oil and an extortion racket

7. Card 7 of 18

   The global oil market was spooked by ISIS's initial advance, but now the effect is minimal

8. Card 8 of 18

   The conflict was a boon to Iraq's Kurds — at first

9. Card 9 of 18

   Dangerous Shia militias are playing a huge role in the conflict

10. Card 10 of 18

    ISIS has made significant territorial gains in Iraq, but it's being pushed back

11. Card 11 of 18

    Iraqi forces are much stronger than ISIS, but the Iraqi army is kind of a mess

12. Card 12 of 18

    Iran is fighting on the Iraqi government’s side

13. Card 13 of 18

    The US and Iran are tacitly cooperating in Iraq

14. Card 14 of 18

    The US is waging a campaign to destroy ISIS

15. Card 15 of 18

    Some Americans blame Obama for ISIS's growth

16. Card 16 of 18

    Iraq's Sunnis and minorities will probably suffer the most

17. Card 17 of 18

    ISIS captured and executed James Foley and Steven Sotloff, two American journalists

18. Card 18 of 18

    ISIS has claimed responsibility for the Paris attack