Islamic State

So the Islamic State is the topic du jour right now so lets carry on with it.

Who's doing what?

USS George H.W. Bush in Arabian Gulf

The U.S has already conducted its first offensive airstrikes in support of Iraqi army and Kurdish forces in the Mosul region. Obama has just ruled out putting boots on the ground for combat purposes but will be sending forces to assist the Iraqi army, the trouble is that it's easy to make statements but the reality can be very different. There is also talk of airstrikes in Syria, the U.S is warning the Syrian government against interfering in this.

Peshmerga forces

Britain has begun sending arms (heavy machine guns and ammo) to the Kurds (most probably the Peshmerga militias) as well as having already provided non-lethal support such as body-armor. Britain is also ferrying arms from Arab nations, it is not clear who is the recipient of these arms but it's probably the Iraqi army rather than the Kurds. Britain has also hinted that it would conduct airstrikes in Iraq if parliament approved, Syria appears off the table as experts have taken the view it would be illegal without a request from the Syrian government.

Islamic State, our new neighbours from hell

It's quite hard not to have heard of Islamic State, ISIS or ISIL or whatever you choose to call them these days. About 2 months back they rocketed on to the scene with a brazen invasion of Iraqi territories and the near collapse of the Iraqi military overnight. Before that, they were being reported on but I doubt many people were paying much attention - just another bunch of zealots in an area teeming with religious extremism.

Who are they?

IS fighters and commander Abu Waheeb

The group isn't new in any way. Their roots lie in an Islamic group formed in 1999 with the intent to overthrow the Kingdom of Jordan. Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq they joined the insurgency (dare I say resistance) against the coalition forces and Iraqi government. In 2004 they pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda and became known in the West as 'Al Qaeda in Iraq'. 

During the insurgency they gained control over various areas of Iraq and in 2006 declared an Islamic State, this was made possible by the disenfranchisement of the Sunnis (and Kurdish and other minority communities) by the government. In 2007 the American's stepped up their efforts to bring order to the country. America sent extra troops but more importantly the Sunni militias turned on the group who were foreign influenced and viewed as brutal and unrepresentative of the community as a whole - Al Qaeda in Iraq went in to decline.