Historical reference
It is quite strange that IS’s chain of command and ranks not only entails skilled men but also possesses highly educated people. For example its Chief Abu-Bakr Al-Baghdadi has a PhD in Islamic Studies from Baghdad University
John Mearsheimer, an American political scientist, argues in his book “The Tragedy of the Great Power Politics (2001)” that great powers shake and shape the international system. This phenomenon exhibited by them often creates such shockwaves which tremble and crumble down regional and even international politics. As a consequence, the emergence of the Islamic State and it becoming an enormous advanced military force is perhaps an instrument of the world powers to exert themselves and protect their concerns by means of a proxy war or even rental armies also known as mercenaries.
It is quite strange that IS’s chain of command and ranks not only entails skilled men but also possesses highly educated people. For example its Chief Abu-Bakr Al-Baghdadi has a PhD in Islamic Studies from Baghdad University. IS or Da’ish is believed to be the most resourceful and well-funded multinational fighting force equipped with modern weaponry and having shown tremendous military skills and knowledge on the rough terrains and hard battlefields of the Levant region. The ideology of Da’ish is fundamentally based upon the ultraconservative teachings of Ibn-e-Taymiyya and Abdul Wahab’s Salafism and Wahabism. A recent BBC report indicates that a huge chunk of IS recruits were radicalised Muslims from various western democracies. These people are completely fearless, dedicated to Da’ish’s ideology, and brutal in their tactics.
Similarly, Waffen Schutzstaffel or Waffen SS was the multi-national fighting force of Hitler’s Germany. Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, atheists and Negros were all part of the Waffen SS. The Jewish soldiers of the Waffen SS make one thing clear that the western-developed discourse of National Socialism being the enemy of Jewish religion is distorted or perhaps wrong and the entire concept of Holocaust is highly questionable. Azad Hind of Subhas Chandra Bhose was an affiliated group of the Waffen SS. The binding force of all these men from different religions, regions, nations, race, caste and colour was the National Socialist Ideology. Apart from that, the excellent training, command structure and doctrine also made Waffen SS a formidable part of the Wehrmacht. There exists huge literature on Waffen SS and its fighting tactics and has also remained an important subject for the military strategists and students of history. The significant aspect of Waffen SS was its intense training and selection of men. Those who got selected who were not only physically, mentally and psychologically fit but were also whole-heartedly dedicated to the cause. It would not be wrong to say that it was solely driven by its ideology that provided fuel for the fire. Operation Oak is taken as a precedent in special operations that was actually executed by Waffen SS and the valour and daring was appreciated by the Allied Forces.
Apart from all the military operations against Da’ish, it still is a million dollar question that, why Islamic State, its command and control mechanism, along with its military forces and associated groups have not been completely destroyed by the American, Russian and other fighting forces?
Apart from all the military operations against Da’ish, it still is a million dollar question that, why Islamic State, its command and control mechanism, along with its military forces and associated groups have not been completely destroyed by the American, Russian and other fighting forces? US-Russian and several other NATO militaries employ the latest C4ISTAR command and control platform which enables them to get complete picture of the battlefield known as situational awareness. They also possess most sophisticated and precise smart bombs and cruise missiles with 0.5 metres of circular error probability. Apart from many assumptions, the simplest answer to the question is that the enemies of Da’ish are trying to out-manoueuvre it by eliminating its presence and physical force. Clausewitz, a Prussian general said in his book “On War” that, provided the same amount of intelligence, timidity will do a thousand times more damage in war than audacity. It is evident that IS is using fear as a weapon to control the perceptions of people. The only viable option in eliminating IS or Da’ish is to defeat or perhaps root-out its extremist ideology while cutting down its funding and human resource.
It is interesting to mention that Wiki-Leaks showed evidence of Obama administration’s connection in the creation, training and arming of the IS with some inmates of Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp. The timeline of the Syrian crisis and IS’s creation has a unique match. The recent reports of Sputnik News indicate that many countries of the Levant with some extra regional powers as well indulged in oil business with the IS. The IS dilemma though shows its determination and prowess to fight on one hand but it also reveals the duplicity of the great powers and regional stakeholders on the other hand.
