A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Monday, March 7, 2016

Irbid, Ben Guerdane, Hilla: Signs ISIS is Resurgent, or on the Ropes?

Within a matter of days, we have seen a cross-border raid from Syria into Jordan at Irbid, another cross-border raid from Libya into Tunisia at Ben Guerdane, and a deadly bombing at Hilla in Iraq (a largely Shi‘ite city). ISIS and its subsidiaries are certainly prime suspects.

But given ISIS' battlefield setbacks of late, I would raise one question: is ISIS showing a resurgence, or are these the desperate attempts of a movement in retreat lashing out in an attempt to appear still relevant? I suspect it may be the latter.

1 comment:

David Mack said...

As long as there are failed states in the Arab world, the so-called Islamic state will find fertile ground. Otherwise, its model is less sustainable than Al Qaeda. Over time, the people in Mosul and Raqqa and other parts of the so-called Islamic state will seek more effective and humane rulers. Question is whether the governments in Baghdad and Damascus and their foreign supporters will rise to the challenge of providing that better model of governance.