Journal Entry See Below - Essay Example

History of ISIS Introduction Islamic of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) is a terror militia group, which remains to be the richest in history. Due to its huge financial muscle, it has the capacity to control activities in most countries, and thus is among the most feared groups in the world. However, loyalty to Al-Qaeda by most Islamic nations is a threat to its growth. It is a Sunni jihadist group, which is concerned with causing political, social, and religion unrest in Iraq and the Levant (Laub & Masters, 2014).

Its mission is to radicalize nations into being one single Islamic state governed by Sharia laws. The group’s origin dates back in 1999-2003 during the Iraq war, and a time when Sadam was under scrutiny by the US Government. The group was formed to promote the existing war in Iraq between Sunnis and Shiites, where Shiites were supposed to die because it was heretic. In addition, the group wanted to expand its control over Iraq and Syria. It emerged from Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), which was a major character in Sunni insurgency.

The group was then under the leadership of Musab al-Zarqawi then. However, after his death, the group merged with other extremist groups to form the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). However, in 2007, things lost balance in the group after many Iraq Sunni groups differed with ISI because of boundary disagreements. In 2011, the group emerged after foreign troops withdrew from Iraq and when Abu bakr al-Baghdadi was appointed the group’s new leader, who chose former Ba’athist military and intelligence officials as his personal assistants.

However, in 2012, it adopted a new Moniker and branded itself the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). The group has 7,000 members, 3,000 of whom are foreigners mainly from Britain and Belgium. According to reports published on CBS News website, ISIL (S) uses social media to recruit most of its members, especially from the west. In addition, it has a multilingual media group called Al Hayat, which specializes in printing and distributing glossy magazines and videos that aim at influencing people into being part of the group.

Its main sources of finance are smuggling, extortion, and outlawed crimes. It is estimated that the group can make up to $8 million per month. The group’s organizational structure is composed of a supreme leader, who currently is Al-Baghdadi, who is has two deputies, one in charge of Syria, and the other in charge of Iraq. The leader has cabinet ministers, who offer advice, and have independent roles including being in charge of salaries, transport, treasury, security, and prisoners (Baker, 2014).

A selected ‘War Office’ is responsible of all logistical costs and other technicalities during wars. The group has approximately 1,000 medium to top level field commanders who get a salary of $300-$2,000 per month, depending on risks involved in their jobs.Conclusion ISIL proves to have a history that dates back to 1200 AD, when the caliphate was established. While many governments have joined hands to fight the existence of this group, it sounds difficult because it is engaged in a war with the US and its sympathizers.

Radicalization and ideologies in this group is the main reason why it is difficult to fight and wipe it out completely. The huge financial muscle makes it a superpower that can soon overturn Iraqi and Syrian governments.ReferencesBaker Graeme. (2014, Jun 11). ISIL: Rising Power in Iraq and Syria. Retrieved May 27, 2015 from: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/06/isil-eminent-threat-iraq-syria- 20146101543970327.html.CBS News. (2014, Aug 29). ISIS recruits Fighters Through Powerful Online Campaign.

Retrieved May 27, 2015 from: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/isis-uses-social-media-to- recruit- western-allies/.Laub Z. & Masters J. (2014, June 24). Background Briefing: What is ISIL? Retrieved May 27, 2015 from: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/what-is-islamic-state-iraq-and-syria/.