Joint Task Force (CJTF-OIR)

According to American intelligence officials, 20,000 foreigners and at least 3,400 Westerners have joined the Islamic State’s cause and are now fighting on the frontline in Iraq and Syria. Unlike the British in WW1, ISIS doesn’t use propaganda posters to recruit new fighters, they use social medias like Twitter, Facebook, and Whatsapp to reach their target audience in a language it understands. According to U.S. States Department spokeswoman,

The United States is fronting the conflict against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant; therefore, we feel strongly inclined to support the inhibition of online recruiting tactics used by ISIL. Previous attempts to thwart the online presence of ISIL have been misguided and incomprehensive - and have thus faltered against high expectations. Our reasoning for this stance is because in the past year alone, an estimated hundreds of recruits have joined ISIL through online mediums - additionally, ISIL has encouraged and coaxed recruits into committing domestic

must increase control of Information Operations (IO). IO is the integrated employment of core capabilities of electronic warfare, computer network operations, psychological operations, military deception and operations security; specified to influence, disrupt, and corrupt the adversary. The anti-American propaganda that is released via the internet by ISIL continues to deceive the impressionable and attract volunteers to this terrorist group. The U.S. faces great challenges combating adversary propaganda from ISIL. Successfully locating, jamming and shutting down websites and social media that stream propaganda is not always effective; sites are shut down and moved too quickly. Adversary propaganda is designed to affect behaviors and influence American’s and our allies to disapprove of the war on terrorism, persuade society that their actions are justified and not terrorist actions; several sites solicit funds as well as

Military operations for OIR began on August 8, 2014 with a goal of striking ISIL across the breadth and depth of their so-called “caliphate”. According to the Department of Defense’s OIR website, U.S. and coalition forces have conducted over 16,500 strikes across Iraq and Syria (as of early December 2016). In addition to strikes, over 127,000 sorties have been flown in support of operations in Iraq and Syria. Military actions have resulted in the destruction of approximately 31,900 targets. Airpower has played a significant role in OIR; however, because ISIL is a non-traditional adversary and the war against ISIL is an irregular war, coalition partners have not been able to destroy ISIL’s strategic center of gravity to end their resolve. Significant progress has been made; however, combat operations alone will not result in the degradation and destruction of ISIL. Operation Desert Storm was viewed by military strategists as the first of a new generation of conflicts where victory is no longer ensured only by physical force, but also by the ability to win the information war and to secure information dominance.

Over the past year or two, newspapers, radio stations, and news broadcasts have been covering the rapid ascent of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS. But they have spread far beyond those material boundaries, reaching into the minds and homes of young people across the globe. These young people are led to believe that ISIS is saving the world, not harming it and that they must partake in the fight for religious dictatorship. They are instructed over the internet to perform acts of terrorism in their own country, known as domestic terrorism. Due to the dramatic increase in terrorist activity

That call to action can come in many forms of media and to a global audience. “Terrorist recruitment videos, often released online, have been tailored to appeal to various audiences. A propaganda video, which can still be watched on YouTube of captured U.S. soldier, Bowe R. Bergdahl, compares what seems to be his good treatment under al-Qaeda, to those of U.S.-run prisoner of war camps” (Philipp).

Arguably the most famous event that made people aware of the terrorism acts emerging from the Middle East was the infamous 9/11 terrorists attacks carried out by al-Qaeda, which included over 3000 people killed in New York City and Washington D.C. That attracted a substantial amount of media coverage and stimulated the war on terrorism regarding the U.S. and Middle Eastern threats. In late March of last year, ISIS supporters released a list of about 100 names and pictures of U.S. military personnel, and their goal was to kill them and their families. News outlets immediately jumped on the story, even though the author of the list was anonymous. When writing about the threat, news stations informed readers about the common goals of an ultra terrorist group, not knowing that they may have accidentally fueled a “propaganda campaign” help ISIS further carry out their mission of recruitment. Fathali Moghaddam, a terrorism expert and professor of psychology at Georgetown University supports the idea that the coverage of the media has aided in the evolution of ISIS’ “Hollywoody” image (Fryer-Biggs). ISIS isn’t necessarily complaining about the amount of exposure they receive because the media’s news could be considered “add on” almost to their own forms of propaganda in which they are highly skilled with. “It has its own 24-hour channel [with attractive special

For the last decade, the Army has been actively engaged in the War on Terror. Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) began on October 7, 2001 with allied air strikes on Taliban and Al Quada targets in Afghanistan. Even though United States President Barrack Obama announced the drawdown of Armed Forces in Afghanistan by the end of 2016, OEF would have lasted 15 years, becoming the Army’s longest war in the United States history (Taylor, 2014). On the other hand, Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) lasted approximately 105 months, beginning in March 2003 and lasted until December 2011 with the withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq (Schifrin, 2011). Between OEF and OIF, over 2 million American Military personnel have deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan or both

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is a terrorist organization on the United States’ Foreign Terrorist watch list that has been able to successfully recruit both homegrown volunteers who stay with U.S. borders to commit terrorist acts on behalf of the organization, and foreign fighters who leave the United States to join Arms in Syria. Since March of two-thousand and fourteen one hundred and eleven individuals within the United States has been charged with offenses related to ISIS, fifty-eight have pleaded or were found guilty. The Islamic state of Iraq and Syria started as a rebel organization that has rapidly gained territory within Syria since 2014 and has proven to be somewhat revolutionary. From its ability to attract thousands of volunteers across sovereign state and international lines, to its resilience to sustained U.S- lead bombing campaigns and its regular spectacular acts of violence. (Kalyvas 2015) Although ISIS was not the perpetrators of the September eleven attacks, they have earned a number one spot as an international threat to many countries due to its ability to recruit homegrown extremist and foreign

All this, he says, has given him an insight into what fuels terrorism, and a specialist’s appreciation for the propaganda strategies of the Islamic State, and how they have improved upon those pioneered by Al Qaeda. Where Osama bin Laden once lectured in didactic videos, the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has young jihadists speaking to potential recruits in their native tongues, whether English, French

I can too state that I see eye to eye with the United States joining forces with our allies in destroying ISIL along with other terrorist organizations. Our strongest allies at the moment in the fight on terrorism include: France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

The current state of the Syrian conflict could be described as an asymmetric conflict, an important proposition of both conventional warfare and nuclear war (Mingst 256). These asymmetric conflicts often lead to unconventional tacts, such as terrorism and propaganda. ISIS takes advantage of both. Recently, three young British teenage girls left their country for Syria to join ISIS. Young people are becoming key to ISIS’ growing power. In the group’s propaganda, children are becoming the focal point. One video even shows boys in camouflage and ISIS bandanas learning how to fight. Now the focus is on luring in young women to be brides for its members. The group uses its social media platform to appeal to those with anti-Western views. Twitter, Facebook, and other social media websites make it increasingly easier for ISIS to reach their target audience in other countries. Through the use of “trending” features, young people can easily search for the group’s hashtags, which ISIS is able to use to disseminate their message. ISIS is able to appeal to individual’s religion and desire to escape a life of Westernized stress. ISIS even offers loyal members gifts. A British teen who left home for ISIS in 2013 claims to have left for a rent-free living situation with free electricity and water (Mullen). To combat ISIS’ use of social media, the United States needs to up its efforts in getting rid of poisonous

ISIS has been training young children to fight against the infidels. They have raped multiple women from the age of nine and older. ISIS has begun to expand its borders into Afghanistan; which in turn, is causing the remaining followers of Al Aqidah to join ISIS. Covering the “War on Terror” is a big opportunity for both sides of the campaign, so it is crucial to know whether or not people are getting accurate coverage from the media. The media covering this campaign is depicting accurate coverage, because the media provides information about ISIS by interviewing people who have been affected by ISIS, videoing live ISIS attacks and Yazidi rescue operations, and filming how ISIS is training their followers.

I heard of ISIS, and knew a few minor details about the subject but never knew into depth until I watched this video. Isis is still actively recruiting unbelievably. The man on

It is important that we understand why terrorists have turned to social media to spread fear along with recruiting members and supporters. Research has shown that propaganda videos containing terrorist-