book offers some useful insights into the operation of ISIS, as well as its origins, Particularly of interest were a few interviews the authors were able to conduct with current and former ISIS members, or people who lived in ISIS territory.
Given the necessarily rushed nature of the book its not exactly a stunning literary achievement or particularly enjoyable to read, but it serves a utilitarian purpose of describing the mechanics of the group in a way which is somewhat useful.
ISIS is opaque in a lot of ways so whatever pierces the veil a little bit is good, One thing of note was the conspicuously benign way in which American influence in Iraq is portrayed, contrasted with the singularly malevolent role of Iran you almost get the sense the authors are saying all America's good intentions and actions were simply sullied by outside intervention, which is an ironic characterization.
I recommend reading this book but doing so with a critical eye to sources and perspectives, This book took forever to read and I nearly gave up several times, but I really wanted to try to understand how everything came to be.
It was really hard to keep track of all the cast of characters a few of the names I recognized from the news, but there were so many more.
On top of that, there were all the nom de guerres just so challenging to keep all the major players apart, And so many factions to try to keep track of: Shia, Sunni, Baathists, alQaeda, Takfiris, Salafists, alNusra, alDawla, the Brotherhood, the Awakening and those are the ones coming to me off the top of my head.
There are so many more, Additionally, the authors state again and again how geography plays a major role, but I have a very limited understanding of the geography of the area.
I could probably find Bagdad and Damascus on a map, but the rest of the locations didn't mean a thing to me, so I think that part went right over my head.
And being someone who has only known democracy, however flawed it's practiced, I could not wrap my mind around tribalism, yet knowing how the various tribes will react and how to countermand those actions plays into the success of ISIS in the area where western thought will often find the same situation irrational.
That said, the book is broken down into shorter sections in attempt to clarify and distinguish the identities and motives of each group.
The authors spoke to many people including former ISIS members, former Saddam government personnel, US military officers , government officials, etc, I would recommend this book to anyone who truly wants to understand and is willing to make the effort, I hope our leaders have read this or something similar and have a clearer picture than I do, I would say Donald Trump should read it before he ignorantly opens his mouth again on the topic, but I'm afraid it's above his reading comprehension level.
This book gave me some great insight into ISIS on a historical and organisational level, The author uses a great array of sources to give the reader a wellresearched overview,
I found the historical part of this book very engaging and Michael Weiss does a solid job in putting together all the complicated pieces in a manner that is easy to read.
Another aspect of this book that I found riveting was the high level of organisation and planning that ISIS use in its campaigns.
They appear to be functioning at an extremely high level and this is what is contributing to its ability to punch way above its weight.
It is also a very terrifying realisation to come to,
Overall this book gives the reader a good overview of ISIS and the related issues, It is a timely book and as given me a new perspective on the subject,
Interesting reporting of both the current as of its release almost in Februaryconflict under the banner of ISIS and the events that helped birth the organization during the previous decade.
The story was little confusing for me but with the help of Google I was able to cobble together many of the pieces to get a much better understanding of the crisis or maybe I just understand better that I will never fully understand it.
To a large extent, but not always, the telling has the unbiased feel of what used to be considered good reporting,
Of course, if I had the perspective of an Iraqi or a Syrian it is entirely possible I wouldn't see it that way.
There are limitations to the book brought on both by the choices of the author and by the realities of the subject.
The author focuses on political, historical and economic forces in the war and doesn't go into depth into the seemingly subtle to someone who lacks much knowledge on the history and teachings of Islam religious aspects of the conflict.
Also, all wars develop their narrative once a war is over so a book written in the middle of a conflict has many disparate pieces that fight against a streamlined understanding.
There are so many parts to this conflict you could fill a book with a thousand pages and still leave much of the story untold.
So the author chooses to focus on Iraq, Syria, Iran and to some extent the US, But Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Western Europe, et al, have roles that are largely left out, Finally, since the ISIS's publicationmonths ago much has happened in the war, I suspect there are probably more uptodate books in print or soon to be released, But overall this was an excellent primer on this extremely murky conflict, ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror is a very well researched history combined with firsthand accounts of the rise ISIS, its relationships with other states and groups in the region and throughout the world, along with insights into its motives, actions, and agendas.
If you're like me and not already particularly knowledgeable of Middle Eastern news and geography of the pastyears, you'll probably have some of the same struggles I did to keep up with all the names and places.
If you can allow for some ambiguity though, the second half and final third of the book in particular are very well worth it.
If you don't want the history, get the book just for the epilogue, The conclusions are harrowing.
Weiss concludes in part, that despite losing ground in places like Ramadi, ISIS is gaining ground elsewhere, even if it is not completely controlling the cities in a more traditional sense:
"ISIS continues to rule more or less uncontested in alBab, Minbij, Jarablous, Raqqa, southern Hasaka, Tal Afar, Qaim, and outside the city center of Ramadi.
" "ISIS has compensated for itspercent territorial losses in Iraq by gainingpercent in Syria, though you wouldnt know it to listen to US officials.
"
“Whats amazing is how we keep making the same mistakes over and over again, in Iraq but also in the broader Middle East,” Ali Khedery told us.
“Ive seen senior American officials waste time tweeting about the number of air strikes, Who cares about these tactical developments Sunnis are being radicalized at record proportions, A counterterrorism approach isnt going to work with ISIS, We saw that in Iraq, and well see it in Syria, ”
It's easy to think of ISIS as just a bunch of extreme Islamist fundamentalists, because on the surface that's pretty accurate.
The more nuanced view is that ISIS members arrive with diverse motives and backgrounds, Some were displaced Ba'athist Iraqi's, others prison converts brought in by fellow charismatic Syrian inmates, and there are many who seem to have joined ISIS out of some type of expediency, hopelessness, or hopefulness.
The resulting diversity has strengthened ISIS by bringing expert statesmen of sorts, computer and weapons experts, PR and media manipulators, and not a few people with proper military backgrounds.
Because of this diversity, ISIS often acts more as a state than a typical terrorist organization,
Despite this facade of legitimacy, ISIS is reprehensible in every way, It's an organization led by heartless murderers, torturers, and rapists as they so brazenly exhibit in their own propaganda, They are wellorganized manipulators and terrorists in every sense of the word, They should be stopped. How to do this is unclear, but pacifism isn't an option, Understanding ISIS is not pleasant or rewarding but it is necessary, especially for those with political or military influence, This book should not be missed, .