ISIS - War against the Islamic State

Aug 9, 2023

ISIS - War against the Islamic State

Let’s look at a map and trace the rise and fall of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria / Daesh / ISIS.

English translation \u0026 voiceover : Rahul Venkit / @rahulvenkit

Original video in French: • État Islamique - Résumé de la guerre …

Music: Dragonfly - Quincas Moreira (From YouTube library)

Content

0 -> At the end of November 2017, it went almost unnoticed that the so-called

4.94 -> Islamic State, the terror organization that captivated global attention, lost

9.92 -> the last cities it controlled in the Middle East.

12.96 -> How did this group succeed, in a matter of months,

15.96 -> to control at its peak a territory as big as the United Kingdom?

20.32 -> Let's look at a map and trace the history of the global war against

24.72 -> the Islamic State.

31.28 -> Syria and Iraq are located in the Middle East between two

34.62 -> great rivals from ethnic and religious point of view

38.38 -> Saudi Arabia and Iran

40.74 -> Saudi Arabia is part of the Arab world and is 87 percent Sunni

45.46 -> while Iran is predominantly Persian and Shiite.

49.32 -> In Iraq, Saddam Hussein, who was Sunni, ruled the

52.06 -> country since 1979.

54.8 -> In Syria, Bashar al-Assad, who like 13 percent of the population, is Alawite

60.2 -> -- a branch of Shia Islam -- succeeded his father as president in 2000.

65.96 -> Finally, both countries have an ethnic Kurdish minority who are part of

70 -> a population of about 35 million people spread over several states.

75.88 -> Looking at resources in the region, Iraq at the time had a third largest known oil reserves in the world.

81.88 -> 7 main deposits of which 2 are currently being drilled.

86.32 -> Saddam Hussein nationalized Iraqi oil in 1972, so it can only be mined

91.84 -> by national companies.

97.32 -> In 2003, the United States, under the pretext of its fight against terrorism

101.8 -> and weapons of mass destruction, formed an international coalition and overthrew

106.68 -> the Iraqi government in three weeks.

110.16 -> They then put in place a provisional

112.08 -> authority which was in charge of suppressing everything related to Saddam Hussein.

116.96 -> First, they banned the Baath Party which had 1.5 million members and

121.53 -> laid off 200,000 public sector employees. They then dismantled the Iraqi Armed

128.04 -> Forces and let go of more than 250,000 soldiers, mostly Sunnis.

134.04 -> This policy would destabilize the country and allow the emergence of rebel militias that

139.38 -> would organize and quickly grow in power. In 2004, one such Sunni jihadist group

145.769 -> pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden and became al Qaeda in Iraq.

150.76 -> It was later based in Al Anbar province and essentially fought against the US

155.36 -> coalition and the Shiites, sparking a civil war.

160.28 -> Later, the groups merged with five other militias and proclaimed themselves the Islamic State of Iraq.

167.36 -> In June 2009, the new Iraqi government auctioned away its oil deposits to multinationals.

173.32 -> At the same time, the US began the withdrawal of its troops from Iraq,

177.44 -> marking the end of the civil war there

184.84 -> 2011 would be marked by the Arab Spring with popular revolts rising up against

189.64 -> leaders who'd mostly been in power for several decades.

193.8 -> Syria was not spared but

195.52 -> the revolts were violently muted by the army, pushing some soldiers to defect and

200.16 -> creating the Free Syrian Army.

203.4 -> They were quickly supported and armed, sometimes

205.68 -> discreetly by the international community.

209.24 -> Fighting alongside the regular army

211.16 -> was the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Guard Corps of the Islamic Revolution,

215.52 -> a paramilitary organization based in Iran -- both Shiites and allies of Bashar al-Assad.

222.08 -> The conflict would make the country unstable and allow the arrival

225.64 -> of a new Sunni jihadist and Salafist factions that quickly took over the revolution.

232 -> Among those was the Al-Nusra Front, a branch of al-Qaeda.

240.88 -> In April 2013, the Islamic State in Iraq becomes the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant,

247.16 -> encompassing Al-Nusra. But al-Qaeda refused to validate the new

251.36 -> group, breaking the link between the organizations.

254.72 -> The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant decided to intervene alone in Syria.

259.84 -> In June, they would seize a good part of Raqqa at the expense of the Free Syrian Army.

264.84 -> The city became its political and military capital.

268.72 -> Faced with this threat, the Kurds of Syria

271.04 -> would federate and create their own autonomous administration.

275.16 -> They also organized protection units: the YPG and its all-female branch the YPJ.

284.48 -> In Iraq, the second civil war breaks out with a revolt of Sunni tribes in Al-Anbar.

289.52 -> The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant rapidly gains territory.

293.6 -> During its offensive, the organization seized oil reserves and military equipment abandoned by the fleeing army.

300.8 -> In June, they captured Mosul, the second city of Iraq with 2 million inhabitants,

305.2 -> which became its religious and intellectual capital.

308.96 -> However, they would be stopped in their march towards Kirkuk by the

312.32 -> Peshmergas, the armed faction of the Kurds of Iraq.

316.56 -> The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant became the Islamic State and proclaimed a Caliphate on its territory.

323.04 -> Iran would react by militarily supporting Iraq and carrying out

326.64 -> bombings. The US creates a new international coalition, bringing

331.02 -> together 69 countries. This coalition would be responsible for supporting

335.52 -> forces against the Islamic state and choking off its funding.

339.88 -> Around the world, jihadist rebel groups begin to pledge allegiance to the Islamic State.

348.96 -> In the north of Syria, the Islamic State pushed the Kurds back to Kobane on the

353.37 -> Turkish border. But a few months later, with the support of the international

357.54 -> coalition, the Kurds took over and pushed back the Islamic State to Lake Assad.

362.76 -> They then inflict a major defeat on the Islamic State by taking over the border

367.2 -> towns of Tell Abyad, which was the major crossing point

370.52 -> for smuggling oil, arms and foreign fighters.

374.48 -> At the end of September, Russia intervened in support of Bashar al-Assad: a historical ally.

379.76 -> It must also defend its only naval base in the Mediterranean Sea, located in Tartus.

386.04 -> It would first attack rebels whose front al-Nusra then controlled 20-25% of the Syrian population.

393.4 -> At the same time, the Kurds announced they were joining forces with

396.84 -> other rebel groups to form the Syrian Democratic Forces.

400.92 -> They tried to gain more ground by proclaiming the federal region of Rojava

405.04 -> which made Turkey react. Rather isolated from a diplomatic point of view, the

409.44 -> Turks first restored ties with Russia and then launched operation Euphrates Shield.

415 -> This seized the last territories of the Islamic State along its border.

422.84 -> In Iraq, the Peshmerga who liberated Sinjar began to take over Mosul with the

427.81 -> Iraqi army. In February, Turkey reached his goal which was Al Bab

432.52 -> and aimed to take over Manbij from the Kurds. But the US and Russia would

437.29 -> prevent it. Turkey then officially withdrew from Syria and offered

441.56 -> conquered land to the rebels of the Free Syrian Army.

445.48 -> With the Islamic State weakened and losing on all fronts, the Syrian Democratic Force

450.2 -> enters Raqqa. A month later, Mosul is completely liberated.

455.08 -> The Iraqi army and its allies quickly win back territory

458.4 -> However, the Kurds of Iraq would organize a referendum for their independence, reviving ethnic tensions.

464.72 -> The Iraqi government then entered the fight and regained control of strategic areas

469.12 -> including oil deposits and important borders.

472.52 -> Finally, a ceasefire would end this conflict.

475.92 -> Raqqa is now fully liberated, quickly followed by the last

478.96 -> remaining towns and villages controlled by the Islamic State.

486.04 -> Today the Islamic State has no territory in the Middle East,

489.48 -> but its reign isn't without consequence.

492.36 -> In Iraq, a fragile peace seems to be holding at the moment.

495.76 -> The country must rebuild itself by finding a balance between its three major communities.

501.68 -> In Syria, the civil war that has so far killed more than 400,000 and

505.36 -> displaced half its population is still not over.

509.32 -> Some areas are still controlled

510.84 -> by rebel groups. Bashar al-Assad clings on to power and the Kurdish movement

514.96 -> continues to be an important factor. Finally, Iran and Russia seem to be

520.419 -> diplomatically reinforced by this conflict.

523.28 -> While Saudi Arabia is now

524.64 -> bogged down in another conflict in Yemen where it is fighting the Houthis --

528.96 -> Shiite rebels who are backed by Iran.

531.56 -> But we'll discuss this in an upcoming video...

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZuyDVz4JMQ