Combatting the ISIS Foreign Fighter Pipeline

ISIS has also been able to establish a presence in at least 19 different countries within the past two years, even in places where its competitor, al-Qaeda, has been operating for years.[1] With a slick and sophisticated Internet and social media presence, and by capitalizing on the civil war in Syria and sectarian divisions in Iraq, ISIS has been able to attract more than 25,000 fighters from outside ISIS’s territory to join its ranks in Iraq and Syria.

These foreign fighters include over 4,500 citizens from Western nations, including around 250 U.S. citizens who have either traveled to the Middle East to fight with extremist organizations or attempted to do so.[2] The civil war in Syria has been the main catalyst for young people to leave their home countries and volunteer to team up with ISIS to fight the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Failure of Western nations to respond to incidents like Assad’s 2013 chemical attack on civilians in Ghouta facilitated ISIS recruiting. Unexpected ISIS success in Iraq, where in June 2014 it captured Iraq’s second-largest city, Mosul, and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s declaration of a caliphate that same month, has further accelerated the flow of fighters to the region. Never has a conflict generated such a large number of foreign fighters so quickly.

ISIS’s unprecedented success in recruiting fighters from around the world is largely due to its ability to convince impressionable young Muslims of a civilizational struggle between Islam and the West, making it the duty of all Muslims to join the war.[3] ISIS claims the battle is best joined in the caliphate in the areas under ISIS control in Syria and Iraq. The caliphate, according to ISIS, is a critical step in a chain of events leading to the apocalypse and a final Muslim victory over the “unbelievers.”[4]

The most effective way to end the surge of foreign fighters to the region is for the U.S. and its international partners to demonstrate that ISIS is not invincible. Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee John McCain (R–AZ) said during a recent congressional hearing that “the longer ISIL remains undefeated in Iraq and Syria, the more potent its message is to those around the world who may be radicalized and inspired to join the group and spread violence and mayhem on its behalf.” Journalist Graeme Wood, in his seminal March 2015 article, “What ISIS Really Wants,” holds that the most important task is to deny ISIS territory, since without it, the group cannot claim to have established a caliphate.[5]

Since August 2014, the U.S. has conducted over 6,900 air strikes against ISIS positions as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford reported in mid-October that the U.S.-led coalition has helped the Iraqis secure important advances against ISIS in recent months. The Iraqi Army, supported by U.S. air strikes, succeeded in recapturing the city of Ramadi in late December. Still, there are doubts that the Iraqi forces can maintain the momentum on their own, and it is likely that the U.S. will have to increase its level of military engagement in the region for the foreseeable future.

While military success against ISIS on the ground in Iraq and Syria is the best guarantee for stemming the foreign fighter pipeline, the U.S. must also lead a global approach to counter the ideology that drives people to join ISIS, and to implement policies that will prevent terrorist attacks in returning foreign fighters’ home countries. The House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee Task Force report on foreign fighters that was released in late September laid out numerous recommendations for countering terrorist travel. The report suggests that the U.S. government do more to share information on terrorist travel with international partners; to bolster law enforcement in dealing with the growing threat; and to enhance community awareness about the problem of youth radicalization.[6]

This Heritage Foundation Special Report analyzes ISIS presence, activities, and influence in each region of the world where it either operates directly, or indirectly through affiliated organizations, or in which it is actively recruiting fighters. Each regional section provides details on ISIS operational capabilities, recruitment, links with other organizations, competition with al-Qaeda and its affiliates, and implications of the foreign fighter phenomenon for the security of individual nations.

Read Full Report

This article originally appeared at The Heritage Foundation.